survivor
by ofb29
Summary: it's team building time! *final chapter* thanks for all reviews
1. team? what team?

Disclaimer: The idea is mine. Everything else belongs to the great people who make CSI. A.N: Set sometime in season one. A.U. No real spoilers.  
  
'Nick, Warrick, break room. Five minutes.' Grissom's voice floated through the locker room, echoing slightly against the metal. Nick and Warrick shared a look, Nick with an added eye roll, as they both finished getting changed at the end of shift.  
  
'What did we do?' Nick wondered out loud, pulling on a t-shirt, and slamming his locker door closed.  
  
'Don't know, man.'  
  
'Hope he don't keep us long- I've got a breakfast date.'  
  
'Oh yeah?' Warrick asked, eyebrows raised. 'Who with today?'  
  
'Some chick named Olivia.' Nick answered. 'Met her in the coffee shop last night.'  
  
'Nice Nick.' They both jumped at the sudden woman's voice, turning to greet Catherine. 'Some chick named.is that how you greet all your dates? Cause no wonder you don't get any second ones.'  
  
'Ah- I'm just waiting for the right woman to come along. She has to live up your standards- it's not easy.' Nick said as earnestly as he could manage.  
  
'Oh you'll never find a woman like me.' Catherine told him, patting him on the arm.  
  
'How was your case?' Warrick asked, coming to the rescue of his friend who was looking mighty uncomfortable now.  
  
'Solved.' Catherine said with a dismissive wave.  
  
'That easy?' Nick asked.  
  
'Kid shot a shopkeeper with a .38. The gun was in his room, in plain sight. Got away with ninety-nine dollars and fifty eight cents. Now he's looking at life.' Catherine shook her head.  
  
'Some people are just born stupid.' Nick said.  
  
'Come on Nicky- we have to go and meet Gris.'  
  
Catherine gave Warrick a questioning look. He shrugged in response. 'Gris just said he wanted to meet us.'  
  
'What did you do?' Catherine asked, causing both of them to look at her in innocence.  
  
'Us?'  
  
Catherine just laughed.  
  
'Anyone seen Sara?' Nick asked as they walked out of the locker room. He got only shakes of the head in response.  
  
Grissom was waiting for them in the break room, fixing up a coffee.  
  
'Oh good.' He said when he saw them, nodding towards envelopes on the table. There was three- one each for Nick and Warrick, and one for Sara.  
  
Before anyone could ask the inevitable question, the door opened, and a tramp walked in. Or that was what it looked like on initial assessment. 'Sara?' Catherine was the first to ask.  
  
Sara looked up at them, and they all had a chance to take in the mud streaked face, torn, mud caked clothes. It was safe to say, Sara didn't look impressed with her new image. 'Don't ask. Just don't ask.' She muttered. 'Greg said you wanted to see me?' She said to Grissom. Grissom nodded towards the table.  
  
Sara picked up the envelope, gave it a cursory glance, before stalking from the room.  
  
'What case did you send her to?' Catherine asked Grissom, trying to fight back the laughter that was threatening, mostly at the look on Sara's face.  
  
'Car found down a ditch.' Grissom told her.  
  
The door opened, Greg peaking his head round. 'Is she gone?'  
  
'If you're talking about Sara, yeah, she's not here.'  
  
The door opened fully and Greg walked in, muttering something that sounded like 'Just cause I laughed at her.'  
  
'Greg, tell me you didn't laugh at her.' Nick said, with a sorrowful shake of the head.  
  
'Hey, she fell down the mud bank, it was my prerogative to laugh.'  
  
'You never learn, do you?'  
  
'She fell down the mud bank? Is she ok?' Catherine asked, coming over all motherly for a second.  
  
'Apart from the bruised ego? Yeah, she's fine. Turns out there wasn't even anyone in the car- someone just dumped it.'  
  
None of them could stop the smile on their faces, except of course Grissom.  
  
'Get a sense of humour.' Catherine told him, seeing the look on his face.  
  
'So, anyway,' Nick said, 'what's this all about?'  
  
'You're going on a survival week.' Grissom told him.  
  
'You're joking!' Nick exclaimed. 'Oh, sorry, scratch that. When?'  
  
'Two weeks from now.'  
  
'And you're paying for it?'  
  
'Well, not me, personally, but the department is.'  
  
'Why?' Warrick asked, looking suspicious.  
  
'Team building exercise. The city is keen to make sure that the police department is working in harmony, so it's sending ten people on this.'  
  
'Why are we going?' Nick asked.  
  
'Because they made it voluntary for them, and only a few people took it up, so they offered it to us.'  
  
'And we have to go?'  
  
'Oh, you don't have to go.' Grissom said.  
  
'What's the catch?'  
  
'No catch. But I think it would be good for this team for you to.'  
  
'Why only us three? Why aren't you and Catherine going.'  
  
'Well, I'm boss, someone has to stay and run graveyard.'  
  
'And I've got Lindsey.' Catherine told them.  
  
'And you three, well, just happen to.need a team building exercise more than the rest.' Grissom added.  
  
Nick and Warrick turned on him. 'What do you mean? We work great together.'  
  
'You two bet on any case you work together. You're both far too competitive, wanting to be the best.'  
  
They were working together now, both glaring at their boss.  
  
'And it's no secret that Sara hasn't exactly gelled with the rest of the group, especially with you Warrick. If the only thing that happens if you come back at least a bit more friendly it'll be worth it. And besides, you get a week camping. What could possibly be wrong with that.'  
  
'Just be glad that Sara didn't read her letter in here.' Nick told him.  
  
'Why don't I get asked to go on it?' Greg asked, frowning. 'I'm part of this team too.'  
  
Grissom looked at him. 'I didn't think you'd be interested.'  
  
'Interested? Of course I'm interested. It's a week out of the lab, it's gotta be good.'  
  
'Well, I can talk to the captain, if you want, see if they've filled all the places yet.' Grissom said uncertainly.  
  
'All right! This week is gonna be ace!' Greg cried.  
  
Nick shook his head. 'You've got to get out of that lab more.' 


	2. road trip

Warning: I have no idea where this is going. I basically have two ideas- keep it light hearted, or make it more drama-y and CSI-e (ya know, blood, guts and the like) Any preferences, or you just wanna see where it goes?  
  
The day they were due to leave for the team-building exercise arrived swiftly. They had been swamped in the department, not least because a man decided to return to his office after being laid off, and blow it up, killing three people and injuring scores of others.  
  
Sara and Nick hadn't been home in three days, trying to put the final pieces of the case together. Literally putting pieces together; they had rebuilt a wall in the garage from tiny pieces left at the scene in order to get the source of the impact, and to match up a handprint found over thirty- six pieces of brick. They met up with Warrick and Greg, who were looking decidedly well rested, at the front of the building, Grissom and Catherine standing with them to see them off.  
  
'So, did you get the print to trace?' Grissom asked as soon as they appeared.  
  
'I'm sure we'll have a great time. Of course we'll cover up with insect repellent. Thanks for your concern.' Sara said, smiling cheerfully, and somewhat sarcastically in Grissom's direction.  
  
'You've got the Valium, right?' Greg asked, turning to Warrick.  
  
'Ha Ha.' Sara answered. 'And yes, the print's in trace. Can we get going, now? The sooner we get there, the sooner we can come back.' To say that Sara hadn't taken the news about the survival week lightly was an understatement. Once she'd actually opened the letter that was, which had lain abandoned in the locker room over two shifts before someone had found it.  
  
'Hand over the keys.' Warrick said to Nick.  
  
'What? No way, I'm driving.'  
  
'Yeah right! You'll be asleep at the wheel before we've pulled out of the parking lot.'  
  
'I can drive for now! And there's no way I'm letting you drive first.'  
  
Nick held the keys in his right hand. Greg and Sara shared a glance, and as Warrick made some, rather nasty, comment about Nick's driving ability when he wasn't sleep deprived, Sara slipped the keys from Nick's palm, and she and Greg started running for the Tahoe.  
  
'Hey!' Nick yelled, taking off after them, Warrick hot on his heels.  
  
Sara and Greg had the advantage though, and were buckled in the driving and passenger seat respectively by the time they made it across the car park, leaving them to argue about who was gonna sit behind the driver.  
  
Sara gunned the engine, rolling down the window as she did, smiling a good- bye to Grissom and Catherine.  
  
Greg was more vocal. 'See you in a week! Don't do anything we wouldn't do.'  
  
'That doesn't rule out an awful lot.' Catherine called back.  
  
Warrick and Nick were too engrossed in arguing about something to manage much more than a glance back at the labs.  
  
They stopped first at Nick's house, then Sara's on the way to the interstate, to pick up their bags, then Greg decided he really really needed a Micky-Ds for breakfast. So they did the drive through thing, Nick making them all feel nauseous by ordering a Big-Mac and large fries. Till Sara ordered the large fries as well, and would have ordered the Big-Mac except for the tiny factor that it contained, or allegedly contained, meat.  
  
They were driving along in relative peace, having just joined the interstate, when Greg flicked on the radio and slipped on a tape.  
  
An incessant beat suddenly filled the car, soon accompanied by the monotone of the latest Eminem rap.  
  
Sara's judgement was quick and harsh. The tape was ejected, a slow rock ballad from the radio filling the car instead.  
  
'Hey!' Greg said, turning hurt eyes on her.  
  
'What?' Sara asked innocently.  
  
'I was listening to that.'  
  
'I'm not sharing a six hour car ride with you, listening to That.'  
  
'What's wrong with That?' Greg asked, imitating her infliction on the word that.  
  
'It's rap.'  
  
'Well duh.'  
  
'And we're not listening to it.'  
  
'So we have to listen to what you want?'  
  
'I'm driving.'  
  
'So?'  
  
'Means I get to choose.'  
  
Nick decided to interject then. 'We're not listening to this just because you say so.'  
  
'Well you can't do much about it.' Sara shot back at him, catching his look momentarily in the rear view mirror.  
  
Warrick, wisely or otherwise, had so far kept quiet till that point. 'Why don't we just turn the radio off?' He suggested quietly.  
  
'What, and talk?' Sara asked sarcastically.  
  
'You know, you should look up some other responses. The sarcasms getting old.' Warrick told her.  
  
'Gee, I'm flattered you even heard it. You don't normally acknowledge what I say.'  
  
'That's usually because you don't say anything I want to hear.' Warrick shot back.  
  
'You're not the only one.' Sara muttered, thinking of Grissom's deliberate ignorance of her suggestion to sack Warrick.  
  
'What was that?'  
  
'Nothing.' She muttered. 'Nothing you'll want to hear, anyway.'  
  
'Oh this is going to be great!' Greg muttered. 'A week stuck with you two.'  
  
The car was filled suddenly with heavy silence. 


	3. nerd squad?

Thanks for all the reviews, guys. This one's for you. And please continue, it does great for my ego. Muse, I mean muse.  
  
'Ah, doesn't she look cute when she's asleep.' Greg commented.  
  
'It's lucky she is asleep.' Nick said, looking behind him at Sara, just to make sure she was still asleep. 'You would have been wearing that soda for that comment.'  
  
Warrick didn't comment, but did steal a quick glance in the rear view mirror. It was true, when the tiger was asleep, she did look less like a wild animal and more like a cute kitty. Not that he would ever admit it. Plus, when she was asleep, she wasn't talking.  
  
He looked back at the tailgate in front of him, feeling like sighing. They'd moved five feet in the last thirty minutes. The tailgate, belonging to a 69 chevy wasn't bad to look at, but it was getting old now.  
  
They'd been driving for three hours, making good time, till now. Sara had finally got bored, and relinquished the driver's seat, leaving Nick and Warrick to fight it out. But as Nick had only just woken up, and was still kind of groggy, Warrick easily claimed the driver's seat.  
  
Greg hadn't complained; he couldn't drive, so didn't have anything to complain about. His moped was safely back at the garages of CSI headquarters. So, he was amusing himself with all the possibilities of having a soundo Sara next to him on the backseat. So far he'd managed to plait a strand of her hair, write Greg 4 Sara on her arm in ink, decorated with several hearts, and he was just wondering what he could do next.  
  
'Ya know, in Scout Camp someone told me that dripping water on someone's palm when they're asleep'  
  
'Finish that thought, Greg, and you'll be wearing your lower intestine as a jacket.'  
  
Nick and Warrick both grinned at Sara's wide-awake voice, Greg trying to look innocent.  
  
'I was only saying.'  
  
'What the hell have you done to my arm?' She interrupted him.  
  
'Sorry, I was bored, and Nick reckoned you'd wake up straight away, and I said you were well out of it, and so he bet ten dollars, and you didn't wake up, so I won.' He trailed off, seeing Sara didn't look that impressed with the knowledge.  
  
'How far will ten dollars get ya?'  
  
'Huh?' Greg asked, confused.  
  
'Because I'm thinking you can hitch if you do anything else to me.'  
  
'Sorry Sare, really, I was just playing.'  
  
Sara's look softened, and she grinned at him. 'I heard it was toothpaste.'  
  
Greg's blank look spoke his question.  
  
'To make someone wet themselves in their sleep.'  
  
He grinned, leaning closer to her. 'Maybe we'll have to have a controlled experiment.' He whispered conspiringly, waggling his eyebrows meaningfully at the two occupants in the front seats.  
  
'I heard that, and don't you dare even think it.' Nick answered for Sara.  
  
Greg and Sara exchanged a meaningful, and somewhat amused look anyway.  
  
'At last!' The exclamation from Warrick drew all their looks forward as for no apparent reason, the traffic in front started moving. At the first opportunity, he overtook the Chevy.  
  
They pulled into the campsite three hours after they were meant to.  
  
'See?' Greg said. 'I told you to turn left, but oh no, the lab rat in the back can't possibly know what he's talking about.'  
  
'You told us to turn right earlier, and took us down the wrong road without realising the map was upside down!' Nick snapped back. He had driven the last bit, but as they'd been driving in circles for most of it, he wasn't in a good mood.  
  
'Well, if Warrick could read road signs we wouldn't have ended up in Deadsville.' Greg shot back.  
  
'If you hadn't been yapping in my ear the whole way, I might not have missed the damn sign.' Warrick said, stretching his aching muscles.  
  
'Chill. We got here.' Curiously, the voice of reason came from Sara, who had wandered forward, taking in the sites. They were in a gravel car park; four cars dotted around, most with Vegas plates.  
  
But that wasn't what Sara had been drawn to. Three steps forward, down the end of the car, and suddenly the trees parted revealing a breath taking view sweeping down into a valley, a river sneaking lazily along it. On either side, mountains rose towering into the sky, the lower reaches covered with trees, the uppers reaching into the clouds, cloaking the tops from view. The others, seeing what Sara had, were all silent.  
  
'You got here then!' They turned round at the booming voice, finding a six foot two solid guy who looked like he packed metal for a living greeting them. His biceps were huge, and Nick couldn't help but glance at his own, suddenly feeling threatened.  
  
'Hey Taylor.' Sara shot back, with an uncharacteristically happy smile on her face.  
  
Greg and Nick exchanged glances. And she knew him.how?  
  
'Hey Sara. Thought you'd got lost.'  
  
'We did.' Sara answered sardonically.  
  
'Well you're here now.' He said. 'You guy's all CSI?' He asked.  
  
'Yeah- they're colleagues.' Sara pointed them all out, then introduced Mal Taylor as a cop on the Strip patch.  
  
Well at least that explained how Sara knew him.  
  
'Come on, we're just cooking.'  
  
'Great; man I'm starved!' Nick exclaimed, and the others all quickly agreed.  
  
There were five other people, sitting on logs around a roaring fire. All men Sara was half pleased, half dismayed to see. Fit men, yes, but still all men. For a whole week.  
  
One a day, Sara worked out with a smirk. Two on Sunday. That was only if she included Greg, though.  
  
'Look, the nerd squads here.' One said, causing the others to laugh. The speaker had a shaved head, several tattoos that were visible. Only Taylor, and one of the others, an older guy who sat at the other end of the fire to them held their laughter.  
  
'Least they've got more brains than you.' Taylor shot at him, making room and indicating for Sara to sit down, leaving the three boys standing.  
  
The speaker obviously didn't heed the warning. 'Oh, and they brought their own hot totty as a mascot.' He said, making eyes at Sara.  
  
Sara smiled at him. 'Do you want me to throw hot oil over your privates?' She asked, the smile never faltering.  
  
'Welcome.' The older guy spoke, as the shaved guys confident smile fell just a little. 'I'm glad you're all here; it's obvious you need to learn team skills. This week is not about who can do the most press ups, or who has the largest bicep.' He spoke in a quiet voice, but with such authority that everyone was silent. 'There will be numerous physical activities, but this week isn't about the activities, it's about working together as a team, for the benefit of the team. At the end of the week, it won't be the strongest or toughest member who will have won, but those who worked in a team, learnt how to function as a unit. They will be the true winners. And before anyone can start, one more sexist comment, and they will be going home to a disciplinary hearing. Now, did I hear someone mention they were hungry?'  
  
They dug into a meal of sausage, beans and mash, Warrick and Nick squashed at the end of one log, Greg taking a seat on the floor, all wondering what the hell they had got themselves into. What they didn't realise, looking at Sara chatting animatedly with the cop, was how nervous Sara was getting about the whole thing. It probably would have made them feel better.  
  
Later that night, as they were setting up the tents, Greg sauntered over. 'Uh, Sara?'  
  
Everyone else was pairing up, but Sara, being the lone female, had her own tent, and Greg being the odd man left had a single as well.  
  
'Yeah?' She answered, as she tried to work out which pole was meant to go where to make the frame.  
  
'If I give you a hand, can you, uh, give me one?'  
  
Sara looked over at the pile of poles and canvas Greg had just left, similar to her own, and couldn't help but smile. 'Sure. Then we can plan that experiment we were talking about.'  
  
'I love it when you talk dirty.' 


	4. right side?

Keep up the reviews, guys, they're very encouraging! Changed the rating slightly, just to be on the safe side.  
  
The fall of the sun brought with it a chill wind, and everyone was soon heading for the fire again, using the bright frames to warm up. Greg and Sara, having put up two tents finished after everyone else, and were the last to join the others at the campfire.  
  
Elliot, their camp leader, told them that they were to be up at sunrise, and disappeared off into his own tent.  
  
'Why does this feel like a school trip?' Sara wondered out loud, as she and Greg surveyed the campfire. All the cops had broken off into a small groups, chatting animatedly, calling out jokes and insults to each other. What was obvious was they were ignoring the CSI lot, Warrick and Nick sitting off to the side, chatting easily by the firelight. If Greg heard her, he didn't comment, wandering over to them, Sara following.  
  
'Where's your cop gone?' Nick asked upon seeing Sara.  
  
Sara gave him a look. 'He's not my cop! We've worked a few cases together, that's it.'  
  
Nick had a disbelieving look on his face. Sara looked round, spotting Mal in a group of three, chatting to an older cop. Truth was, Sara had only worked a few cases together, and then they had one night together. But that was it. Sara had ignored his calls, his texts, till he'd given up, the next time they had met talking only in a professional capacity.  
  
The same she did every time. When he'd finally asked, he'd been cool about it, heeding her unspoken words that it wasn't going any further, and backing off, taking their relationship back to strictly professional. They joked about, on the few jobs they had worked since then, but that was it. That was all Sara wanted.  
  
'So, you two worked out who's on which side of the tent?' Greg asked with a snide grin.  
  
'Right.' They both said at the same time.  
  
Sara and Greg shared a grin.  
  
'On top of each other. Well, if that's how you like it. Why didn't you tell us you wanted to be close? We could have brought you that double sleeping bag.' Greg said, straight faced.  
  
'Ha Ha.' Nick answered, before turning on Warrick. 'I'm sleeping on the right.'  
  
'No way. I called it first.'  
  
'When did you call it?'  
  
'Now. I call the right.'  
  
'You can't just call it like that.'  
  
'Sure I can.'  
  
'What are you, in kindergarten?'  
  
'No, that's just your mental age.'  
  
'Why do you want the right, anyway? Not like you sleep with anyone at home.'  
  
'Oh, and you do?'  
  
'More times than you.'  
  
'Wanna bet?'  
  
'Oh, we're back to the betting. Sure, I'll bet.'  
  
'Ok, then. How many?'  
  
'Ball park? To the nearest hundred?'  
  
'You wish.'  
  
'No, I know.'  
  
'You both sound like you're in kindergarten.' Sara said, but was ignored.  
  
'Come on then, you always bragging about it, how many?' Warrick challenged.  
  
'And it comes down to the woman question.' Sara said with a sigh, stretching out her legs in front of her.  
  
'I don't know, man. Not like I put notches in the bed post.'  
  
'You wanted to brag about it.' Warrick told him.  
  
'You wanted to bet about it.' Nick countered.  
  
'So spill already. How many has the great stud had?'  
  
'This year, last year, last five years?'  
  
'I can't believe you guys are betting on this.' Sara said with a shake of the head, and was still ignored by the two guys.  
  
'This year.'  
  
'Well let's see.there was Heather, and Jay, oh, not to forget Keely.fifteen.'  
  
'Fifteen in four months?' Warrick checked. 'No way.'  
  
'Wanna bet.oh, but we're already doing that. What's up, shocked by the competition?'  
  
'Fifteen, smith-teen.' Warrick said in a dismissive tone.  
  
'So, don't keep us in suspense.'  
  
'Twenty-one.'  
  
'Not even in your whole life.' Nick told Greg.  
  
Greg pouted, but kept out of the rest of the conversation.  
  
'Eighteen.' Warrick finally answered after a lengthy look of concentration.  
  
'No way, man.'  
  
'You doubt me?'  
  
'Uh yes!'  
  
'Doubt away. But I tell only the truth.'  
  
'Where's your evidence?'  
  
'Because I suppose you have DNA for all yours.'  
  
'Well, some of them.'  
  
'That's sick, bro.'  
  
'So come on, evidence. There's no way that you can win.'  
  
'No, because I can.'  
  
Sara's quiet voice had them all look up. 'And Mal over there was only number seventeen.'  
  
The boys were all looking at her in shock.  
  
'No way.' Greg finally managed.  
  
'Wanna ask him?' Sara challenged.  
  
'Come on then, how many?' Warrick counter challenged.  
  
'Give or take? Twenty, probably more.'  
  
They were all still looking at her in shock.  
  
'What? So it's just you guys who are allowed to brag? Get over yourself.'  
  
'You, Sara Sidle, with the casual fling?' Nick checked.  
  
'I have needs as well, you know. And in case you hadn't noticed, working our job doesn't exactly leave time for roses and chocolate.'  
  
'I could get you chocolate.' Greg immediately told her.  
  
'I said I had needs, not that I was desperate.' Sara shot back at him. 'I have two rules.' She added, seeing the down trodden look on his face and feeling slightly guilty. 'No one at work, no one shorter than me.'  
  
'Guess that's you out on two counts.' Nick said with a grin to Greg.  
  
'It's all of you out on at least one count.' Sara pointed out.  
  
'But cops are ok?' Nick asked, doubtfully.  
  
'Depends on the cop.'  
  
'Or the cop off.' Greg added. 


	5. partnership

Thanks for reviews. Keep them coming, good or bad. I like knowing when I'm wrong, so I can correct it.  
  
'Partner up, and come and get the bows.' So far, on the first day of this so called survival week, they had been told to partner up three times, and every time, Sara had ended up with Greg.  
  
It wasn't so much that she minded Greg. He was all right. He could make her laugh, and he was good at his job. What was bugging her was the fact that each time they had been told to partner up, Nick and Warrick hadn't even said anything, not even so much as moved, just assumed they would be together, and Sara and Greg would be together.  
  
And it was annoying her. What, didn't they think she could cope with having them as a partner? All the partnering meant was for someone to watch your back. She had a nice back.  
  
And that was the other thing that was annoying her. She was used to having a job in a mainly male dominated arena. But she had never heard so many sexist jibes aimed at her that had been hurled at her that morning.  
  
Even just getting breakfast, when she had settled with the egg and beans on toast, ignoring the sausage, it had started off some barbed comments about watching her weight, couldn't handle a real meal. Sara hadn't bothered correcting the statement, that she was a vegetarian, and wouldn't eat meat if her life depended on it. And of course, none of the others, i.e. Nick and Warrick, who knew she was a vegetarian, had stepped in to say anything. They'd just sat there, listening to the jibes, occasionally throwing her a sympathetic smile. Well thanks a lot guys, nice to know what you think of me, Sara thought.  
  
But that hadn't been the worst.  
  
The morning activity had been some water exercises. Crossing a river on two ropes, which most of the blokes had done with little ease. Sara had a little more problem, mostly being she was about three stone less than the average weight, and the rope moved a lot more when she was on it, without the extra weight to steady it.  
  
Of course, all the males had taken it upon themselves to call helpful hints from the banks. Sara had managed to ignore most of them, except one comment about her arse, and the angle she was at, and some sex act. Sara, being Sara, had turned to give the guy who had yelled it, the shaved head bloke who had started off last night, who's name she now knew was Lenny, a hard look.  
  
Which had caused her to over balance on the top rope, sending the two ropes into a spin, ending with Sara going arse over tit into the water.  
  
She hadn't been amused. She was even less amused when Lenny said they should call off the plans for a wet t-shirt contest, because they'd just found the winner.  
  
Why Nick had looked hurt when he had turned up to give her a hand up the bank and she had told him to get lost (in a much less polite way) she would never know.  
  
She wasn't speaking to them anymore.  
  
At least she had dry clothes on now. Even if she had Greg again.  
  
They were doing Archery. Shooting things for most of them wasn't a problem; they were all, with the exception of Greg licensed to carry concealed, and had to do the regulatory practice that came with that. But shooting a gun, and shooting an arrow turned out to be very different skills.  
  
And one, she was happy to see, not many of the guys were good at. Too used to having a hand held, having to lumber the cumbersome bow and arrow was taking most of them a little getting used to.  
  
But of course, that didn't distract them from the usual comments. Greg had offered her the first go, so there she was, lining up the point of the arrow at the tiny yellow circle fifty feet away, when one called that if she needed help holding the bow, just to call.  
  
Sara was very tempted to point the arrow at a very different target, but bit her lip, staring resolutely at the target, not about to rise to the barb.  
  
'Hey, sweetheart.'  
  
Just one little arrow, right through the gluteus maximus.  
  
'If you need someone to help you with your technique, I'm your man. We could do a little one on one.'  
  
It would hurt a lot, right?  
  
Lenny, the propostioner, only shut up because Elliot was getting closer to earshot. Sara let the arrow go with a defiant pull back of the bow, watching it with satisfied eyes as it fell just outside the yellow circle.  
  
'Nice shot.' Greg told her with a grin. 'And good call on not shooting the arrow in a totally different direction.' He added under his breath.  
  
Sara grinned at him. 'I'm sure I could have made it look like an accident.' She told him, keeping an innocent look pinned to her face.  
  
Greg smirked as he brandished his own bow and arrow. 'Haven't done this in a while.' He murmured.  
  
'Scouts?' Sara guessed.  
  
'Probably.'  
  
'Oh well, wish me luck.' He said, stepping forward.  
  
'Nerd with an arrow, nerd with an arrow.' Lenny was back, now Elliot had disappeared back up the other end. 'Watch out everyone.'  
  
'Not worth it.' Sara murmured, just loud enough for Greg to hear, upon seeing a muscle in his shoulders tense, as if he was about to turn.  
  
Instead, Greg pulled back and let the arrow sail. It claimed the centre spot. Sara grinned as Greg looked at it rather surprised. Sara looked over at Lenny, who was looking quite surprised himself. 'Maybe Greg needs to help you with your technique?' She told him, looking pointedly at Lenny's arrow, which was currently residing on the ground, having sailed over the top of the target.  
  
Lenny, for his part, was restrained enough not to answer.  
  
Sara and Greg high fived.  
  
When Nick caught up with them later, and asked how they had got on, they looked at each other and shrugged. 'Ok, I suppose.' Greg answered, and they casually walked off, leaving Nick with a rather confused look on his face.  
  
Perhaps having Greg as a partner wasn't too bad, Sara decided. 


	6. watery trip

A/N Thanks for reviewing. It's true, some of this is out of character- it's just I'm completely making it up to fit with what I want to write. Plus I've kind of been focusing more on Greg and Sara, just because that's the way it's worked out. Sorry for anyone who doesn't like it. The comments made in this are totally my own, and no offence is meant.  
  
The river was twenty six miles long, with seven grade B rapids, twenty grade C and a vast variety of other smaller ones.  
  
And they were canoeing down it.  
  
'Grissom never mentioned making sure our life insurance was up to date.' Greg commented as Elliot finished his teaching on the correct way to steer a canoe.  
  
Sara glanced at him, deliberately blanked face. 'Your job comes with it. We get killed doing this, our next of kin gets a massive pay out.'  
  
'Well, at least my mom will be able to buy a house.' Greg said with a small smile.  
  
'Doesn't this look great?' Nick asked, bounding over to them.  
  
'Yeah, if you like a watery grave.' Greg countered turning to face him.  
  
'Oh come on, it'll be great.'  
  
'You've probably done this before.'  
  
'Well, yeah, but it's fun.'  
  
It was day three. The previous day they had been on bikes all day, and Sara now had muscles aching that she didn't even know that she possessed. The last thing she felt like doing now was a two-day river descent in a canoe sleeping out in a bivouac overnight in between.  
  
'Ok, choose your partner, and come and choose your vessel.' Elliot told them.  
  
Sara turned and faced Nick and Greg, who were standing behind her. 'Where's Warrick?' She asked, squinting in the sun. She felt in her pocket, pulling out her sunglasses, settling them on her nose. Around them, the cops were somewhat more subdued than usual. It being half five in the morning wasn't helping.  
  
'Here.' Warrick answered, coming up behind her, making her jump.  
  
'Man, don't do that!'  
  
'Scare you?'  
  
'Startled me.' Sara corrected.  
  
'So, who's partnering with who?' Greg asked. 'Because, no offense, but I don't wanna have to drag Sara down the river.'  
  
Sara looked at him in disbelief. 'What?' She exclaimed.  
  
'Well, it's gonna be a long trip.'  
  
'I can't believe you of all people would say that.' Sara said, feeling more than a little hurt at the comment. She had got used to the cop's comments by then, but the comment from Greg was just.mean.  
  
Nick and Warrick both had shocked look faces on their faces, mostly at Greg's audacity.  
  
'Fine- if that's how you feel, maybe I'll just go solo.' Sara said, stony faced.  
  
Greg gulped. The comment hadn't worked as he had hoped it would. 'Sara.'  
  
She ignored him, striding off towards the riverbank where the people who had partnered up were choosing boats. Greg caught up with her, having to step in front of her to get her to stop.  
  
Nick and Warrick watched from where they stood. 'Does Greg have a death wish?' Nick wondered out loud.  
  
'I think he meant it as a joke.' Warrick observed.  
  
'He should have said it in a joking manner then.'  
  
'Sara, I didn't mean it like that, I didn't mean to hurt you!' Greg said, staring Sara in the eye. Until then, he hadn't really realised that he and Sara were near enough eye to eye in sneakers.  
  
'It sure sounded like you meant it.'  
  
'No.I.I know you're getting sick of being left with me, so I was hoping one of the others would volunteer. I honestly didn't mean I didn't want to go with you, because I did. I do. I know you've kind of been stuck with me so far.'  
  
'That's not your fault. And it hasn't been so bad.' Sara said, a small smile on her face at Greg's sincerity.  
  
'Well, you know, it hasn't been so bad being stuck with you.'  
  
'Stuck with me?' Sara questioned, one eyebrow raised. The smile on her lips showed that she wasn't really mad at the comment.  
  
'Well yeah. It's been nice. You know, getting to know you outside of the lab. Makes me realise how much we didn't really know each other.'  
  
'So, you wanna partner up? Maybe we can swap with the other two after lunch?' Sara suggested.  
  
'Cool.' Greg said, falling into step with her as they crossed back to Nick and Warrick. 'Just don't expect me to do all the paddling just because I'm the man.' He added.  
  
'You keep telling yourself that.'  
  
'Everything ok?' Nick asked, as they came up.  
  
'Sure.' Greg answered, looking puzzled as to why they would think it wouldn't be. 'Sara and I are gonna partner up, but you wanna swap at lunch?'  
  
'Sure. We'll race you to the check point.' Nick said, then laughed as the others groaned.  
  
It was peaceful out on the river, the gentle slap of the water as the paddles connected with it, sending mini whirl pools rushing past either side of the canoe.  
  
'Doug Ross'  
  
'Kerry Weaver.'  
  
Sara turned for a moment and gave him a surprised look. 'Dr Weaver?' She questioned.  
  
'It's the whole scaring-caring thing.' Greg explained.  
  
'She's not caring- she's a psycho! Plus, you know, a lesbian.'  
  
'Hence the appeal.' Greg said with a grin. 'Anyway, Doug got it together with Carole. And they've got twins.'  
  
'So- his voice does it every time. There's always Carter I suppose.'  
  
'He's a bit young. My back up would have to be Abby.'  
  
'She's a bit old for you, isn't she?'  
  
'I'm twenty-six!'  
  
'Way too old.'  
  
'And George Clooney's a spring chicken?'  
  
'Nope- his age is his appeal- he has experience.'  
  
'And money.'  
  
'Always helps.'  
  
'Ok, then. Jan Micheal Gambil or Pat Rafter?'  
  
'Ooo, Gambil. Serena or Venus?'  
  
'Venus. Micheal Douglas or Kiefer Sutherland?'  
  
'Kiefer Sutherland. I said I like experience, I don't like geriatric.'  
  
They were silent for a moment, as Sara tried to think of a new one for Greg. 'Britney or Christina?'  
  
'Christina. Especially in the Dirty video.' Greg said. 'Nick or Warrick?' He asked without missing a beat.  
  
Sara paused. 'No workmates. Did you miss that?'  
  
'Because you're gonna get together with George Clooney?' Greg countered. 'Answer the question, and I'll tell you who I'll have between you and Catherine.'  
  
'I don't want to know.' Sara told him.  
  
'Yes you do. And it would be you. Catherine's too.old.' He finished.  
  
Sara laughed, she couldn't help it. 'Just don't tell her that, will you.'  
  
'Come on then, Nick or Warrick. I'm not going to tell them.' Greg pressed, lifting his paddle slightly to drip water down the back of her neck.  
  
'Hey, cut it out!' Sara said, cutting her oar in the water to send a sheet of water over Greg.  
  
'Ah!' Greg choked, shaking water out of his hair. 'Come on, Sidle, enough with the stall tactics.' He added.  
  
'Um.' Sara looked ahead, at where she could just see Nick and Warrick in their canoe, about to go down a small rapid. Nick was sat in the back, stirring them expertly through, sweat glistening in the morning sunshine. Warrick was sat in front, paddling enthusiastically, his broad arms obvious in the ripped t-shirt he wore. They both had their.credits.  
  
'Ok, then, how about out of Nick, Warrick and Grissom?' Greg challenged, intrigued to know if the rumours constantly abounding the lab about a Sara- Grissom crush were true.  
  
'What is your obsession with older men?'  
  
'Hey- you said you liked George Clooney.' Greg pointed out.  
  
The rapid descending on them momentarily silenced the conversation, as Sara paddled fast as they had been told, trusting Greg to stir them in the right direction. They reached the other end with no real threat, glad for the return to peaceful waters.  
  
'So?' Greg prompted.  
  
'Ok, ok. Nick.'  
  
'Nick?'  
  
'Yeah, Nick. Grissom's way old, and me and Warrick can't say two words without something being taken the wrong way. And Nick's ok.'  
  
'Interesting.'  
  
Sara turned at his tone, narrowing her eyes at him even though he couldn't see her eyes behind the sunglasses. 'Why is that interesting?'  
  
'I thought you'd go for Warrick. Or Grissom when I threw him into the mix. There's always been rumours about you and Grissom.'  
  
'That's all they are, Greg, rumours. Why did you think I'd go for Warrick?'  
  
'You two have that.love hate relationship thing, going. You know, you argue, but you always get the sense there's something more going on.'  
  
'No, we're just arguing.' Sara said, turning forward again.  
  
'You and Nick.' Greg said thoughtfully, as though he was planning something.  
  
'Don't even think about it!' Sara warned, sending another sheet of water flying at him.  
  
Greg retaliated, soaking water over Sara, causing a near by cop, who just happened to be Lenny, to make a leud comment on bikini contests. Unfortunately, as Sara turned to shoot a potent death look at the cop, they hit a rough patch of water, which had enough pull under it to send the unstable canoe tipping over.  
  
Nick and Warrick looked back at the sudden yell, seeing an overturned canoe and no sign of Greg and Sara.  
  
Tbc. 


	7. rolling

Thanks again for all the reviews. You're all wonderful! I hope this makes sense. England beat Ireland at the rugby yesterday, and I think I killed more than a few brain cells celebrating with the alcohol! And I have to work tonight.  
  
Rolling with the water current, Sara waited for it to die down before trying to move. A strong swimmer, she had grown up at the beach after all, she knew when not to fight water, when to roll with it and wait for the water to relinquish control rather than the other way round.  
  
She came to the surface, feeling somewhat exhilarated by the experience, grinning as Greg popped up two feet away couching and spluttering. They were both wearing P.B.Es, so would have come up eventually, but why Greg had insisted on drinking the water, she didn't know.  
  
Greg, with one last cough smiled back at her. 'Well that was fun. My life just flashed before my eyes. Why is it you won't go out with me, again?'  
  
Sara laughed, as she swam over to the rocky outlet, as Nick and Warrick paddled over to them.  
  
'You guys alright?' Nick asked, looking concerned.  
  
'Yeah, no problem.' Sara answered. 'Where'd our canoe get to?'  
  
'It's stuck in the weeds just over there.' Nick pointed down stream a little.  
  
Sara and Greg swam doggy paddle over to it, and with help from Nick and Warrick's canoe there to help, Sara got seated again, water dripping into the bottom of the boat.  
  
Greg held onto both canoes, and mimicked Sara, pulling up on leg and hooking it round the edge of the canoe. He got his second foot on Nick's canoe, and pulled up.  
  
Then the canoe decided to move, and Greg found himself doing the splits as he went headfirst back into the river.  
  
As once again Greg came up spluttering and coughing, Sara, Nick and Warrick were all doubled up with laughter, as around them, the cops who had congregated to enjoy the show joined in, some even applauding.  
  
Greg pouted.  
  
Sara finally managed to get some control back, and offered out her hand, helping to pull him in head first into the canoe. Not exactly dignified, as half way in he got kinda stuck with his butt in the air and legs kicking in all directions to try and get some momentum. Sara thought she was going to die of laughing as finally Greg managed to get himself over the edge and into the canoe.  
  
Burning a scarlet red, Greg sat himself in the seat, and took one of the paddles Nick and Warrick were holding out to them, that they had rounded up.  
  
'Let's get going.' He said shortly, ignoring Lenny's remark about rat boy swimming. He furiously dug the paddle in, giving Sara no choice but to join in or capsize all over again.  
  
Five hundred metres down the river, Nick and Warrick caught them up, and came along side the canoe. 'What was all that about? We were only laughing.' Nick said.  
  
'Oh yes, let's laugh at Greg again.' Greg muttered, steadfastly studying the river in front of them.  
  
'Oh come on, get a sense of humour.' Nick said.  
  
'Well it wouldn't be so funny if you'd been on the receiving end of so many jokes this week to warrant a slot on comedy night at the local bar.' Greg said.  
  
Nick and Warrick exchanged looks. They had missed something then. Nick looked over at Sara, who had turned round to look back at Greg, her eyes hidden behind sunglasses.  
  
For a moment, nobody said anything. 'Look, if we did something.' Nick started but was quickly interrupted by Sara.  
  
'Leave it. Let's just get going.' They'd already been passed by everyone else, and could see they were approaching another set of rapids.  
  
Nick and Warrick looked like they liked that idea, but Greg spoke up. 'No, we're not leaving it. Sara's had nothing but insults thrown at her on whatever activity she happened to be doing. Everyone seems to take great delight in wondering out loud about my physical ability. And the worst part? You two haven't even noticed anything!'  
  
Nick and Warrick looked uncomfortable, stealing quick glances at each other as if to wonder how they were meant to solve this. Sara had taken up Greg's unflinching glare at the approaching mountains.  
  
For a moment there was just silence. Sara eventually looked over at Nick and Warrick. 'You were too busy trying to compete against each other to remember that this was meant to be team event.' She said quietly. 'Come on, otherwise we're gonna get left behind.' She said with finality, Greg mirroring her paddling as they set off.  
  
Nick and Warrick looked at each other, somewhat in shock. 'Well, we've really screwed this up.' Nick said mirthfully.  
  
'I didn't mean to blame them.' Greg finally said quietly after they had successfully negotiated the next set of rapids.  
  
'Maybe they needed to have their eyes opened.' Sara said. 'It hasn't been all bad, though.' She added.  
  
She could feel Greg's quizzical look on her back.  
  
'I mean, who knew you and I could work so well together?'  
  
'True. Sara?'  
  
'Yeah?'  
  
'You think we were a bit hard on them?'  
  
'Nah. They're big boys, they'll deal. Or have a bet going about it.'  
  
'I've enjoyed this week. I've enjoyed getting to know you properly.'  
  
'Yeah, you're not bad yourself, Greggo.'  
  
'We should have done it sooner.'  
  
'It's funny. I've been dreading this week. And everything I was dreading happened- being the only female, being ignored by Nick and Warrick. But you've really made this week worthwhile. And now we're just descending to mush.' Sara added.  
  
'Come on, let's get to the checkpoint and see what disgusting grub they're trying to pass off as lunch.'  
  
'I heard it was sandwiches.'  
  
'They probably wouldn't know how to make sandwiches.'  
  
Greg and Sara were sprawled on their backs on the river banks, basking in the cool breeze that drifted from the rushing river, when Nick and Warrick came to bank.  
  
'Look, we're sorry if we haven't done enough, or ignored you or whatever, it wasn't our intention.' Nick started as soon as he saw them.  
  
Sara lifted her head slightly. 'He's asleep.' She said.  
  
Nick looked over at Greg, and now that he was looking saw that indeed, Greg hadn't heard a thing, deeply asleep as he was.  
  
Sara sat up as Nick and Warrick dropped to the ground, studying the inners of their sandwiches. 'Do I even want to know?' Warrick wondered out loud.  
  
'I think it would take all the resources of the lab to figure out that one.' Sara said with a grin. 'Tastes surprisingly better than it looks, though.'  
  
Nick had a suspicious look on his face, as he and Warrick hesitatingly took bites of their sandwiches. The suspicious looks gave way as they realised that Sara hadn't been lying to them.  
  
'How long are we meant to be here?' Warrick wondered, looking around at the rest of the group, most of whom were mimicking Greg and were flat out on their backs either asleep or close to it.  
  
'Elliot's gone up to the road to pick up some more supplies, so we have to wait for him to get back.' Sara answered.  
  
For a moment, they sat in comfortable silence, Sara feeling that same lulling sleep coming over her at the sounds of the river.  
  
'Have we really been that bad?' Nick asked, breaking her reverie.  
  
Sara turned her head to regard him for a moment. 'It would have been nice if you'd at least have acknowledged us once in a while.' She finally answered.  
  
'Have you really had a bad time? We didn't mean to spoil it for you.'  
  
'You didn't.' Sara answered, mildly irritated that Nick would assume that. 'I've had fun. Who knew I'd get on with Greg so well?'  
  
'You and Greg?' Nick asked doubtfully.  
  
'Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm just saying it's been fun to get to know him better. I mean, I see him everyday at work, but I don't see him. I rush past, drop off samples, and then pick up results, usually in a big rush on the way somewhere else. It's been cool spending time with someone, getting to know them.'  
  
'We still should have been around more. This is meant to be a team building exercise, after all. I don't think any of us know you that well, Sara.' Warrick said, surprising Sara that he would want to know her more.  
  
'We've still got three days left.' Sara pointed out.  
  
'We should at least try and show Grissom we didn't spend the week arguing and competing.' Nick said ruefully. 


	8. it's all about one thing

As always, thank you for the reviews.  
  
'Ok then, weirdest place you've had it.' As with all recent conversations, the talk of the evening once again turned to sex. Not that surprising, when you get nine guys together and throw in alcohol and a campfire.  
  
The guy who had thrown out the question, Kieran, looked satisfied with himself, sitting back against the log, taking a swig of bottled beer he held in one hand. The beer was a reward, the thing Elliot had been up to the road to get during the day. Beer had never tasted so good as that first sip of cold froth sliding down parched throats. For at least ten minutes, no one had spoken, everyone had just discovered paradise.  
  
The silence hadn't lasted though, and with the campfire blazing, surrounded by dark foreboding mountains and the sounds of the rushing river near-by, the conversation had descended into guy talk.  
  
Sara sighed into her beer.  
  
'On the balcony of a hotel.' One guy offered. Sara wasn't sure of his name, but he was younger than the rest, always wanting to fit in, be approved.  
  
The answer went down well, and soon other guys offered out their experiences, most of them outdoor, and usually with something kinky thrown in as well.  
  
'And what about you, Sara?' Lenny asked, leering over at her. She felt Greg, against whose legs she was leaning, stiffen at the question. But compared to the how many times a week she, what was the phrase they used? Pleasured herself, question, this was easy.  
  
'Nowhere you're likely to see me.' She said.  
  
'Oooh, like the private do you?'  
  
She briefly met Matt's look, who grinned and looked down at his beer.  
  
'I just know where perverts like you hang out.' Sara answered with a fake smile at Lenny.  
  
'Ah, you wound me.' Lenny joked, hands clasped at his heart. 'Come on, then, what's better- outdoor or in?' He said, the challenge obvious in his voice.  
  
Sara stared back at him, her look not giving anything away, as she felt every other pair of eyes on her. Greg and the others were quiet, the last time they had tried to speak up for Sara, Lenny had made some crude comment about sex in the labs, and if possible they had made it worse for Sara.  
  
Finally, Sara put her head to one side, and thoughtfully said. 'Depends on the guy.'  
  
'How so?' Lenny asked.  
  
'Well, if they're like you and can't keep it up for more than a minute, then outdoors- might as well get some thrill from it.' She answered with a sweet smile. 'Now, if the guy can keep it up, then indoors, no question.'  
  
Lenny looked momentarily wounded. He quickly moved onto his next victim, leaving Sara for now. She knew it was unlikely to be the end.  
  
Greg nudged her on the shoulder with his beer bottle. 'Wanna go for a walk?' He asked.  
  
Sara gratefully nodded.  
  
Picking up one of the torches, Greg led the way past their temporary camp, down to the water's edge. The moonlight shimmered on the water, casting shadows all around that rippled with the water. It was so peaceful out here. Sara had gotten used to the noises that accompanied city-life, in some ways didn't hear them anymore. But standing here, hearing only the water, the occasional call of the birds, she realised how noisy the city was. Standing there in the darkness, she felt more peaceful than she had in a long time.  
  
'You ok?' Greg asked, concerned. Sara looked back at him, only then realising he had stopped about a metre before her, and was just watching her.  
  
'Uh, yeah.' Sara answered after some thought. 'The questions don't bother me. I can laugh them off. It's the comments that get to me more than anything. But thanks for the rescue. I don't know how much longer I could stand the testosterone.'  
  
'And what, I have none?' Greg answered, looking hurt.  
  
'Yeah, but get nine guys together, and it's testosterone overload.' Sara said. 'One or two male egos I can just about live with.'  
  
'I won't take offence from it then.' Greg said with a grin.  
  
'You're not like those guys- always having to prove yourself man enough. Nor's Warrick- Nick, I'm not so sure about.' She trailed off, wondering if she had just put her foot in it even more, but Greg just laughed.  
  
Sara slowly sank to the ground. 'It's quiet out here.'  
  
'It's weird. I've lived in the city all my life. This is too quiet.' Greg said, taking a seat next to him.  
  
'Where'd you grow up?'  
  
'Vegas. Lived there all my life. Wouldn't live anywhere else.'  
  
'I used to live in this really small town. You know, where everyone knows your name, and your business. I hated it. Left as soon as I could.'  
  
'Where'd you go?' Greg asked.  
  
'Boston- got accepted to Harvard. Stayed there for a while after I graduated, but I hated the snow, so I left, went to Frisco. Back to the sun.'  
  
'Where'd you meet Grissom?'  
  
'He did some lectures, whilst I was at Harvard. Stayed in touch, and then he asked me to come to Vegas. Right out of the blue that was.'  
  
'Wasn't it a hard decision? I mean, he called you one day, and you were here the next. And then you never went back.'  
  
'I never really settled in Frisco, for various reasons. He happened to call when I was at breaking point. Didn't have anything to stay for, so I left.'  
  
'Well, I'm glad you came.' Greg said.  
  
'Thanks. I'm glad I came, too. The jobs great, the teams not half bad, and I'm doing what I always dreamed of. Why won't you leave Vegas?'  
  
'Kind of grows on you. I've got all I want there. Why would I move?'  
  
'Don't you ever want more? I mean, you always talked about doing the CSI thing.'  
  
'If I did that, it'd be in Vegas- can't imagine working with a different team. How about you? Think you'll ever leave?'  
  
'Don't know. Sometimes. When a case gets too much. When my mother calls and asks why I'm not married yet, and given her a grandchild.'  
  
Greg laughed a little at that.  
  
'But I've settled here more than I have anywhere else. And I don't have any great urges to have a kid.'  
  
'No maternal instinct?' Greg joked.  
  
'Depends on the time of the month, but no, not really. I mean, can you imagine me as a mother? I'd be terrible.'  
  
'I think you'd be a great mother.' Greg said sincerely, causing Sara to look up at him. She started shaking her head in disagreement, but Greg stopped her. 'You're smart, caring, don't let things get to you. You're passionate about the things you care about. You always want the best for people.'  
  
'I'm obsessed with work.'  
  
'Because you have nothing else to be obsessed about. If you put all that energy and passion into being a mother you would be a great one.'  
  
Sara still looked disbelieving, but bit her tongue. Greg sounded too sincere to knock down. 'Not like it's ever gonna happen, anyway.' She said instead.  
  
Greg looked at her in question. 'No guy'd ever wanna be stuck with me.' She elaborated.  
  
'I wouldn't be so sure about that.' Greg answered cryptically.  
  
It was Sara's turn to give him a questioning look.  
  
'When the time's right.' Greg said, looking away from her suddenly and out at the river. It hadn't been what he meant, but he knew he couldn't tell her what he did mean.  
  
'Thanks Greg.' Sara said, her tone making him look up into her eyes. There was a slight smile to her face, making her look more relaxed than Greg could remember. When she was around the lab, or working a case, she was usually so serious, so tense about it.  
  
Perhaps he could tell her. Perhaps he could put into words all he felt for her. Because here, in the darkness, in the peace and quiet, it just felt right.  
  
'Sara, I.' He was halted by a single finger on his lips. He looked up at Sara, who was a lot closer now, staring at him intently.  
  
'Don't. Please? I like this moment.' She whispered.  
  
He stayed silent, as Sara took back her finger, still looking intently at him. He gazed back at her, just as intensive, meeting her look dead on.  
  
'You know, I never really thought of you much outside of being such a damn good lab tech. Before this trip. And I'm sorry for that. I missed out on knowing you.'  
  
'Doesn't matter.' He said, trying to shrug off the apology. It didn't matter, not now. Not sitting here.  
  
'Perhaps it doesn't. Still sorry, though.' She whispered.  
  
For a moment they were both silent, still intently studying each other by moonlight.  
  
Ok, when I started this, wasn't gonna be anything but a simple team story. Till this thing with Greg started developing. I don't know if it's good or bad. I've never read a story with them together, and certainly didn't intend for them to be together- so tell me what you think- Greg and Sara, yes or no?  
  
That's what you get when you write a story a chapter at a time with little planning ( 


	9. it never just rains

A.N. Quick explanation- got going with this, and couldn't stop. Hope you like the longer length (Just don't expect it always!) Just a quick mention, thanks for the reviews, especially those who have reviewed several parts- you know who you are. It's good to have your continuing thoughts, and just to know really that you're still reading it! This is for you guys.  
  
A war cry split the still air, making both of them jump apart, as if stung with tazoes. They looked up as several big cops rushed past with someone hoisted on their shoulders, running full tilt straight into the river.  
  
Sara felt her heart battering against her chest at the sudden interruption. It was more than that, though. She had been about to kiss Greg. Greg! Of all people. What the hell had she been thinking?  
  
She felt eyes on her, and looked out of the corner of her eye to see Greg watching her. She slowly turned her head to acknowledge the look. 'What did I tell you about an overload of testosterone?' She joked aloud, her voice falsely bright even to her ears.  
  
'Yeah.' Greg said, a strange look to his face.  
  
Two people stepped up behind them. 'We were wondering where you two went.' Nick said. Sara knew she had been blushing, but now she felt flustered, unsure of herself, as if she had just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.  
  
'We weren't doing anything.' She immediately stated, her tone of voice a strange mix of defensiveness and enthusiasm. Trying to cover up the fact that Greg was still looking at her, his look now hurt more than anything.  
  
'Okay.' Nick said, looking between the two of them.  
  
'So who just got dunked?' Sara asked in an obvious attempt to change the conversation.  
  
'Matt.'  
  
'Why?' Sara immediately asked, looking out towards the river.  
  
'Lenny asked him about you, and he refused to give details.' Nick said matter-of-factly.  
  
'Oh. What about me?' Sara asked.  
  
'Not even you are that naïve.' Nick told her.  
  
No she wasn't. But Greg had now turned round and started walking back to camp, his shoulders slumped, head down.  
  
Warrick looked between the two thoughtfully, but wisely kept any observations or conclusions he drew from it to himself.  
  
'So is all the beer finished?' Sara asked, full attention on Nick.  
  
'Uh, yeah, I think so.'  
  
Shame, she suddenly felt like getting completely and utterly slaughtered. Perhaps not a wise idea, she judged, considering they would be spending all tomorrow on the river again.  
  
'Sara.Sara? Hello?' She turned her attention to Nick.  
  
'What?' She said irritably for having her thoughts interrupted.  
  
Nick shook his head. 'Nothing, doesn't matter.' He said, turning round, wandering off in the direction of camp.  
  
She looked over at Warrick. 'What was that about?'  
  
'He asked if you were ok- you kind of answered with your silence.' Warrick told her, a slightly amused look to his face.  
  
'Of course I'm ok. Why wouldn't I be ok?' She said.  
  
'You're very jumpy, Sara.' Warrick observed, before turning and making his own way back, leaving Sara wondering what he meant.  
  
The cops, after all getting thoroughly wet and wild had also all started wandering back towards camp. Matt was at the back of the group, and caught her eye, wandering over to her.  
  
'All because of you.' He tutted, wringing out his soaked sweatshirt.  
  
'All because of me.' Sara echoed, a grin coming to her lips. He looked much like a drowned rat.  
  
'Should have just given them details.' He mused out loud.  
  
'Possibly wouldn't look good for your ego.' Sara observed.  
  
'Why's that?'  
  
'I dumped you.'  
  
'Right. Well, for you to have dumped me, wouldn't we have had to be going out?'  
  
Sara thought about this. A one night stand didn't exactly constitute all that. 'Ok. So I burned you.' Sara corrected.  
  
'That you did. No regrets?' Matt asked, stepping a little closer, entering her personal space, making her look up at him to see his eyes.  
  
'None.' Sara immediately answered, a tiny grin on her face. 'Don't get me wrong, you were good. I just don't want more.'  
  
'I know. And you were too. Good- wild cat. Never would have guessed.'  
  
'No hard feelings?'  
  
'Probably. But out here, they don't seem valid.'  
  
Sara laughed slightly.  
  
Greg had deliberately waited till everyone had come back to camp to back track down to the river. What he hadn't been expecting was for Sara to already be caught up in conversation with another guy. With Matt.  
  
He stopped at the tree line, watching as Matt stepped closer, Sara looking up into his eyes, an adoring smile to her lips. Hell, even five minutes ago, when Greg had thought all his dreams were about to come true, they hadn't been standing so close. Or even sitting that close.  
  
Stupid male testosterone. If only they hadn't been interrupted. Would she really have kissed him? It sure felt like it to him- the look to her eyes, the words she had been softly speaking. Perhaps he didn't have all that much experience, but he knew what felt right. Sitting there with Sara had just felt right.  
  
And obviously, Sara hadn't been feeling the way. Leading him on? Probably. Look how quick she had defected to another. Look how uncomfortable she had been in front of Nick and Warrick. Look at the way she was throwing herself at another man when five minutes ago she had been coming on to him!  
  
What was it the G-man said? The evidence never lies. Well Greg had all the evidence- and it was clearly not lying. Greg was delusional about Sara. He should have figured that out a long time ago.  
  
He turned away, as down on the beach, Matt turned from Sara, a fleetingly hurt look soon replaced with a placid one as he walked away from her. Ok, so she had made it clear from the start that one night would all it would ever be. But she really had been good. Such a shame.  
  
The day started off with a lecture. 'There will be one rapid today that none of you will attempt to go down. The recent rains have made the river swell, and what is normally a grade four rapid is now a five, and none of you have the experience to deal with it. Follow these instructions. We will stop around one for lunch. The rapid isn't till after then. Have fun.' Elliot gave them all a lingering hard look to echo his words, before turning and walking to his own canoe.  
  
'Come on, Nick.' Greg immediately said, sauntering off to a near by canoe. Nick looked up, looked back at Warrick and Sara who stood near-by, a look of confusion on his face, before following Greg to the riverbank.  
  
'Guess it's you and me' Warrick stated out loud.  
  
'Gee, ya think?' Sara answered, her eyes, hidden by mirrored sunglasses, following Greg to the riverbank. She'd reached camp last night to find him already asleep in his bivouac. And this morning, they hadn't really seen each other. Although, now Sara thought about it, that was probably due to Greg deliberately avoiding her more than anything else. What had she done? It wasn't her fault that the moment had been interrupted. Had he really thought that there was anything more to it than that one moment?  
  
'Come on.' Warrick said, his voice mild considering her stinging words. He led the way to a spare canoe, both of them strapping in their waterproof gear.  
  
The morning passed peacefully. Too peacefully really. If she had been in any doubt about Greg's avoidance it was reinforced anytime the two canoes came near each other. As Warrick and Nick chatted and joked about, splashing each other, they sat stony faced, ignoring each other.  
  
It was as they were coming up the last stretch of peaceful water before lunch that Warrick dared even ask the obvious question, one he had been biting his tongue to ask all morning.  
  
'So what's up?'  
  
'None of your business.' Came the sharp reply.  
  
Warrick had the back view of Sara's baseball covered head, although if she felt him looking, she didn't acknowledge it. 'Come on, Sara. What happened last night?'  
  
'Nothing.' She spat out. He was about to comment when she added in a softer voice. 'Nothing happened.'  
  
'So what's Greg got his panties in a twist about?' Warrick asked, his voice clearly disbelieving.  
  
He saw her shoulders move up and down in a slight shrug. 'I don't know.'  
  
'Come on, Sara, you must have some idea.' Warrick said.  
  
She turned at that, looking in his direction, although all Warrick could see was his own face reflected back. 'Why do you care?' She asked.  
  
He paused for a moment, hoping that where he was looking was in her eye. 'We're meant to be learning how to work together as a team.' He pointed out.  
  
She looked back at the river. 'I'm sure Grissom will care if me and Greg have.' she trailed off, not exactly knowing how to describe what happened. How could she term something she didn't understand? 'Oh look, that must be the lunch spot.' She said instead, paddling enthusiastically towards the edge of the bank.  
  
Warrick was left wondering.  
  
The afternoon, Sara found herself partnered again with Warrick. It seemed that Greg and Nick had loads to talk about, necessitating alone time in a canoe.  
  
Sara sunbathed away the time, paddling lazily as everyone else seemed to have settled into a post-lunch lull.  
  
Elliot soon put a stop to that, though. 'Line up.' He suddenly yelled, his voice bouncing and echoing over them.  
  
Sara and Warrick shared a look, and obediently pulled their canoe round to line up, side by side, with the other canoes. Some of the guys were grumbling under their breath, but Elliot silenced them with a look.  
  
'Ok, as you're all half asleep, we'll have to do something to wake you up.' He said. 'Normally, I leave this for school groups, but I think you could benefit from it as well.' He added. He sat looking at them across the river bank, making all of them suddenly wonder what he was planning.  
  
He suddenly started shouting numbers, one to five, pointing at the canoes as he went.  
  
'Ok, I'm gonna call two numbers, and either bow or stern. The people it relates to will swap seats, trying not to get wet. Simple.'  
  
Grins or frowns appeared on their faces, as Elliot stated two and three, stern.  
  
The two cops it related to, Matt and Lenny, were next to each other, looked and grinned at each other. 'Easy.' Matt stated, hopping up.  
  
The sudden movement caused the canoe to rock unsteadily from side to side. The grin disappeared as Matt struggled to stay on his feet. 'Easy, you idiot!' His partner, Tyler, yelled, grabbing the sides of the canoes on either side to steady theirs.  
  
Elliot watched on with an amused look.  
  
With much harp and grumping, the two swapped seats, both looking relieved as they sunk down to safety.  
  
'Four and one, bow.' Elliot immediately said.  
  
Nick, and a cop Sara didn't know carefully got to their feet, stepping gingerly along the canoes to get to the other. As they made their way, Elliot yelled out 'five and three, stern.'  
  
Sara looked back at Warrick. They were canoe five, so he now had to swap with Matt. With four people now on the move the canoes tipped perilously from side to side as the body parts moved to their new seats. Sara smiled as Matt slipped into his seat, but no sooner had he sat down, when Sara was on the move, swapping with a cop she didn't know, whilst another two swapped their stern seats behind them. Sara didn't know them, and was too busy trying to stay on the busily swaying canoes rather than going for another dip to really acknowledge them. So far, she and Greg were the only two who had been for an unscheduled swim, and she wasn't up for an encore.  
  
The four all arrived at canoe three around about the same time. The cop Sara was swapping with paused, and Sara slipped past, using the advantage of a lower body weight to carry her over the canoe with little problem. The cop waited till she was safely behind him, and seated, till he made his move. Unfortunately, the other two hadn't stopped to let one pass first, and met on canoe three, the combined weight tipping the canoe into the river, the two cops sliding into the water with little ability to resist. Sara and her new partner shared grins as he got safely into the seat she had just vacated.  
  
The game carried on for a few more turns, two other pairs ending in the sink, including Nick when he caught the back swing of a daring jump from someone on the other side of the canoe he had just stepped on, sending him sprawling into the river accompanied by cheers from the others.  
  
The last pair to be called were Lenny and the cop behind Sara, leaving her sighing at the possibility of being trapped in a small canoe with him for the rest of the afternoon. He grinned at her as he took a seat, grabbing the canoe from the floor of the canoe. 'Guess it's you and me babe.' He said. 'Maybe you'll tell me what Matt was so reluctant to reveal last night.' He added as he dug the paddle into the water, bolting them suddenly forward.  
  
Sara groaned for good measure, as the rest of the canoes pulled off, and behind them Elliot yelled a reminder for them all to bank before the next rapid.  
  
Sitting listening to Lenny wasn't as half as bad as Sara feared. Mostly because he talked so much, Sara didn't have to worry about coming up with anything to say, except for a few agreeing tones when he paused. Apart from that, she daydreamed away the day, catching sympathetic looks from Warrick and Nick that she was stuck with Lenny. Greg, as usual, didn't acknowledge her as he sailed past with his new partner.  
  
The next rapid took about an hour for them to get to. Sara hadn't really gotten much energy from the games portion of the afternoon, and Lenny was too busy talking about himself to waste energy with paddling, so they were at the back of the group. The others started docking in front of them, the sizable rapid in view, filling their ears with the sounds of water breaking heavily against rocks, spray being thrown up in the air all around, that even from this distance, they could feel against their skin.  
  
Lenny, who was sitting in the stern of the canoe, had control of the steering, started guiding them towards the bank. Sara caught Nick's look, and mouthed "swap with me?" at him, adding a pleading look for good measure that wasn't hard to muster. Nick grinned back, and nodded, as he hopped from his canoe, coming over to where Sara's canoe should land, preparing to give them a hand to ground the canoe.  
  
All he saw was the canoe suddenly whip round under force from Lenny's paddle, Sara suddenly finding herself facing away from the bank. She turned to throw a furious look in Lenny's direction. 'What are you doing? We're meant to be docking.' She asked her voice strained.  
  
Lenny met her look. 'What's the fun in that? All we've done so far is pussy little rapids that a five year old could manage. I came on this trip for action, and I plan to get some.' He grinned at her.  
  
'Let me off you idiot- didn't you hear Elliot? The rapid's dangerous.'  
  
'Dangerous is my middle name.' Lenny said, paddling more forcefully now, the pull of the rapid helping them along.  
  
'Well it should be prick! Stop the canoe!' Sara yelled, alternating between looking in front at the fast approaching rocks, and behind, at Lenny, trying to get him to see sense.  
  
He met her look, a deadly calm look to his eye, as behind them, shouts rose from the bank. 'Better start paddling, sweetheart. If we hit a rock, we're not coming back up.'  
  
'What the hell do they think they're doing?' Elliot asked no one in particular, as from the bank they all watched helplessly as the canoe was pulled along with the current and Lenny's helpful paddle.  
  
Nick turned to look at him, before looking at Warrick and Greg who stood watching, hearts in their mouths. 'What is Lenny doing?'  
  
'He's a prick, man. He's been planning this all day.' A cop standing near by told them.  
  
'How dangerous is this rapid?' Nick asked Elliot, repeating it in a raised voice when Elliot didn't respond to the question.  
  
He finally turned to regard Nick. 'Dangerous.' He told him, his look serious, before he turned back to watching the disappearing canoe. As they all watched, Sara turned from yelling soundless words at Lenny, grabbing her paddle, and digging in with all her might.  
  
'Oh hell.' Greg muttered.  
  
'Come on.' Matt yelled, grabbing the end of his canoe, his partner grabbing the other, as they started running the bank, hoping to beat the canoe down.  
  
Elliot seemed to snap out of his deliberation. 'This way!' He yelled at them, pointing through some growth to their left. 'The rapid is on a bend, we should beat them on foot.'  
  
Sara paddled furiously, yelling at Lenny, cursing him, as wave upon wave crashed against the rocks, sending spray over them, soaking Sara to the skin. She barely had time to acknowledge the approaching rocks as somehow Lenny steered them round, barely missing a few. The skin on Sara's hand burned from gripping the paddle so tightly. Like some of the others, her skin had blistered already from the last day and a half paddling, but the pain barely acknowledged now, lost in a desperate need to survive, get through this. How she had come to be relying on Lenny to steer her through some death maze of water she didn't know. But she was, having to believe that he knew what he was doing, even if now some part of her was laughing at that connotation. Her shouts had died, now, all the energy being put into paddling as hard as she could, trying to beat the water at every turn.  
  
She found her voice though, when she caught a brief glimpse of a rock dead in front of them, covered almost completely in water. 'Rock, dead ahead!' she yelled. There were bigger ones on either side as well, meaning they couldn't steer out of it's path, either. The raised water level made it harder to spot all these rocks, and Sara now knew why it was so dangerous.  
  
'Paddle hard right, when I say so.' Lenny yelled at her, his voice far too excited and not scared enough.  
  
Sara had no choice but to follow the instructions, as Lenny yelled now, and she dug into the right side, the front of the canoe shooting left, missing the rock by inches, as they somehow moved the canoe into a right angle with the rock.  
  
Sara barely had time to realise that they had missed that rock when another one loomed up on them, and another, soon all of them merging into one as she tuned it all out, concentrating solely on Lenny's calls, following them wordlessly as it was the only means of survival she had now.  
  
How they came out of the other end of the rapid, Sara would never know. They had been so close to some rocks that she had scrapes down her arms from them. Lenny was cheering wildly behind her, as on the bank, there was a huge sigh of relief that they had come through. Sara continued paddling, slower now, but unable to stop her arms from carrying on, going through the motion, as her mind tried to connect to the fact that she was safe.  
  
Lenny steered them towards the bank, where hands dragged them to the bank, getting a mixed welcome of relief and anger (mainly from Elliot). Sara stood on wobbly legs, hopping out of the canoe, not hearing or really seeing Nick, Warrick, and Greg crowding round, asking if she was ok. Instead she looked around for Lenny, seeing him being high-fived by someone. She pushed past Nick, who happened to be in her way, and stalked over to him.  
  
Her fist connected with his cheek in a sharp slap. 'Don't you ever fucking do that to me again.' She snarled at him, the grin fading from his face.  
  
She turned and walked away, feeling a hand snake through hers, as someone led her towards a canoe. She was sat down, as Greg crouched in front of her, quickly joined by Nick and Warrick.  
  
'You're shaking.' Greg told her matter-of-factly, his look concerned.  
  
'And you're bleeding.' Nick added. 'That was some shot.' He added in awe.  
  
A small smile came to her lips at the comment, as she pushed the sunglasses out of the way and onto her baseball cap, looking down at her arm. It was just a scrape, where a rock had gotten too close. Her knuckles were also now protesting being launched at something, and she flexed them a couple of times.  
  
The excitement wearing off a little, Elliot came to make sure she was ok, before telling Lenny he would have a word with him at camp. They had to get going now otherwise they wouldn't make base camp before night fall.  
  
Greg gave her no choice as he gently pulled her legs round, sitting her properly into the canoe she had been perched on, and pushing it into the river, jumping in behind her.  
  
Nick and Warrick couldn't help but laugh as Greg took Sara's paddle away from her, and told her she was gonna rest.  
  
They didn't talk as Greg stirred them down the river- it took the best part of the rest of the trip to stop shaking and get her heart rate below a hundred. Luckily, there were only a few small rapids to go through, Sara didn't think she could have coped with anymore.  
  
They were all tired from the long two days, and swapped the usual campfire evening for an early night, all prompted by Elliot's reminder they were to be up at sunrise. He had taken Lenny off as soon as they had got back to camp, although no one knew what had been said between them.  
  
Sara lay awake, staring at the ceiling of her tent, listening to the sounds of nature all around her, only now realising how close they had come to crashing the canoe, of being tossed against some rocks. Of dying. A small knock against the canvas of the tent interrupted her decidedly morbid thoughts, and unbidden, someone slipped into the tent.  
  
'I can't sleep.' Greg announced, lying down next to her. Sara realised that he hadn't bothered getting out of his sleeping bag, as he was still in it.  
  
'Me neither.' Sara admitted.  
  
'Thought you might want some company.'  
  
Sara looked over at him in the darkness.  
  
'I know I did.' He added.  
  
'What happened? This morning?' Sara asked.  
  
'You mean when I was ignoring you? I was hurt. That you could forget what happened so quickly.'  
  
'I didn't forget. I got scared.'  
  
'I saw you down there with Matt. Sure looked like you were forgetting. And the way you were when Nick asked.'  
  
'Greg.' Sara said, stopping him with one word. 'I don't know what it was. Down on the beach. But I know it was something. I felt.something. Something I haven't felt for a long time. And it scared me. And what you saw with me and Matt was me telling him that there was nothing, had never been anything between us.'  
  
'Oh.' Greg said. 'So me getting all upset and ignoring you was a bit pre- emptive?'  
  
'Slightly. I don't know what's going to happen, if anything between us. But I do know I want to explore it. If you're willing?'  
  
'Sure.' Greg answered immediately.  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, as each became aware of how close they were to the other. Then Sara shifted. Not away, but towards him, turning on her side so that she could rest her head on his chest. 'Goodnight Greg.' She whispered, as he gently put an arm round her, pulling her closer.  
  
'Night Sara.' 


	10. look at me

The last two days of the camp was a wilderness expedition in teams through the surrounding forestry. Today, however, they were going climbing and abseiling.  
  
Sara couldn't wait. She loved abseiling- ever since a high school trip and they had got to abseil down a hundred foot sheer cliff face. The rocks they were on today weren't quite as tall, but they were still sheer rock faces, waiting to challenge them in the climb.  
  
Sara finished taping her hands. Like many others, she had blisters from the last two days of paddling, not helped by the unscheduled descent where she had been paddling with all her might. She had padded the blisters out as best she could, taping over them to try and preserve some of the skin from the coarse rock. She looked over at Greg, who had just finished taping his own blisters, and grinned. They were going up the rock in pairs, and she and Greg were one of the last to go, only James, a cop who had strained his shoulder paddling, and Elliot were staying on the ground. At the cliff face, a second helper, AJ, was waiting to instruct them all in the art of abseil. First however, they had to get up there.  
  
Sara looked up as she walked to the cliff face, giving the rope a yank just for good measure. She could just make out Nick and Warrick at the top looking down on them, and waved, seeing a corresponding one from them both.  
  
'You ready?' Greg asked, pulling his baseball cap round as he asked so that it sat the right way on his head, shielding his eyes.  
  
'Yep.' Sara replied, putting on her sunglasses properly.  
  
'Remember, it's not a race.' Elliot started. 'You are not competing each other, you are helping each other.'  
  
Sara and Greg exchanged loaded looks. Oh, they were good at helping each other.  
  
The first bit of the climb was deceptively easy. Handholds were plentiful, and for the first fifteen feet or so, they got up no probs. But the higher they went, the less good ledges there were, the harder it became to pull themselves up. Sara's upper body strength wasn't that great- she ran for fitness, but hardly ever did weights or anything, and she could feel the slow burn starting in her shoulders as she grappled for something ahead of her to grab onto.  
  
Greg was over from her about four feet, either having the same difficulty as her, or he was deliberately slowing down, keeping pace with her climb.  
  
'Right a bit.' She heard him call out, and looked over at him. 'Right hand, over a little more, there's a hand hold.' Greg elaborated.  
  
Sara moved her hand, finally grasping onto something solid and pulling herself up, finding something hard to rest her feet on. 'Man this is gonna kill me.' Sara said with gritted teeth as she pulled herself up another couple of feet. Her shoulders were really suffering, taking the brunt of the exertion, and were starting to numb now under the pressure. And they weren't even half way yet.  
  
'Use your legs more.' Greg told her.  
  
'What?'  
  
'Stop pulling yourself up, push yourself up with your legs.'  
  
Sara thought about this, and as she found another hand hold, used her legs to push using her arms just to guide herself up.  
  
'See, much easier.' Greg said, grinning over at her.  
  
And it was. The tension in her shoulders was still there, but with the help of her legs, she at least felt like she might get to the top.  
  
'So, Sara, are we ever gonna talk about last night?' Greg asked, moving closer to her with his next few moves. Sara didn't know if he did it deliberately or whether he was just following the hand holds.  
  
'What do you want to talk about?' Sara asked, playing dumb for the moment.  
  
Greg gave her a disbelieving look. 'Last night? The fact that we slept in the same tent, slept in each others arms. Is any of this ringing a bell or did I just dream it?'  
  
'I know what happened. But it wasn't like we slept slept together. I mean, we were both in our sleeping bags for starters.'  
  
'Yes, I was well aware of that.' Greg said, concentrating heavily on getting good handholds, wondering if Sara was being deliberately annoying or whether last night had really meant so little to her.  
  
'Um, so was I.'  
  
Greg stopped and looked at her, seeing a grin on her face although she was looking around for another hold. Ok, what was that supposed to mean.  
  
As if sensing his look, Sara looked over at him. 'Greg, it meant a lot to me. Just sleeping in your arms. That's the best nights sleep I've had.well in a long time. So thank you. But I don't know what happens now.'  
  
'Why can't we just let it play out naturally?' Greg asked.  
  
Unconsciously Sara was moving towards him now, so they were near enough side by side.  
  
'Because my natural, well, let's just say it would have finished by now.'  
  
Greg gave her a questioning stroke confused look.  
  
'I don't do more than one night.' She clarified.  
  
Greg's eyebrows shot up. 'You weren't lying the other night? About being with so many people?'  
  
'Nope.'  
  
'Wow.'  
  
Sara gave him a look.  
  
'I mean. Well. Wow.'  
  
Sara gave him a more pointed look.  
  
'Sorry. It's just I've never met a woman who will admit to doing the casual thing.'  
  
'It's not like I'm proud of it. But I'm not ashamed of it either. The job I have, the hours I work, it's not exactly great for any burgeoning romance. So I take what I can, and move on. It's easier that way.'  
  
As she talked, they had both been climbing, and both reached for the same hand hold at the same time.  
  
'Sorry.' Greg mumbled, grabbing another higher up.  
  
Sara sighed at Greg's action. 'And now you hate me.'  
  
'No, no. It's just. Is this it? I've been your comforter, so now, I'm on the scrap heap along with your other conquests?'  
  
'Don't call them that.' Sara immediately stated. 'And no. See, I made a mistake with you.'  
  
'What?' Greg asked confused.  
  
'I got emotionally involved rather than physically involved.' Sara answered, climbing up.  
  
Greg stayed perfectly still, not believing her words for a moment, or that he had heard them right. Then he looked up, moving swiftly so that he could catch her. 'You mean, like, that you want to get more involved?'  
  
'I don't know, Greg.' Sara admitted honestly. 'But I do know, I'll never forget last night.'  
  
Nick and Warrick looked at each other, Nick with a triumphant grin on his face. 'See, told you something was going on.'  
  
'You don't know anything.'  
  
Nick sighed. 'I saw Greg leaving Sara's tent this morning, and Sara just told him she wouldn't forget last night. How much more proof do you need?'  
  
'That's a scary notion.' Warrick said thoughtfully.  
  
'Well, everyone knows Greg's had a crush on her since way back. And they're about the same age. I think they're sweet together.'  
  
'Just don't say that to Sara. I doubt she'd ever forgive you. And shh, otherwise they'll hear us.'  
  
They went back to watching the pair come up, offering down some encouragement, along with a few insults thrown in for good measure. And neither could stop the grins as they got to the top and Greg helped Sara to get other the top.  
  
Now everyone was at the top, the real fun was going to begin. Whereas it had taken the best part of three hours for them all to climb up, it would take about a minute per pair to go the other way.  
  
Nick slipped next to Sara as they watched the first couple jump backwards over the side. 'Enjoy the climb?' He asked, a single eyebrow lifted slightly to add emphasis to the question.  
  
Which Sara either choose to ignore or didn't see. 'It was, but my shoulders are already aching. I'd kill for a bath. Or even a hot shower.' She told him.  
  
'You?'  
  
'Yeah. Beat Warrick up here.'  
  
Sara rolled her eyes. 'You guys'll never learn. It's not about winning, it's about helping each other.'  
  
'We did help each other. I helped him to lose.'  
  
Sara couldn't stop the laugh at that.  
  
'So, you and Greg.'  
  
Narrowed eyes looked back at him. 'What about me and Greg?' Sara asked suspiciously.  
  
'Oh, nothing. You were climbing awful close together.'  
  
'Well, you know Greg, can't be alone for a minute.'  
  
'Oh, come on Sidle. Games up. I saw him leaving your tent this morning.' Nick said, unable to stop himself.  
  
Sara's eyes momentarily went wide, but she fought her face back into a neutral position.  
  
'Did you have fun?' Nick added, enjoying himself.  
  
Sara's eyes narrowed again. 'Not that I think it's any of your business. But we slept. That's it. We were both knackered.'  
  
'We kind of deduced you slept together, Sara.'  
  
'Not that way.' Sara said with a roll of her eyes. 'We were both sound asleep. I barely heard the morning bell go off.'  
  
Nick was looking at her, like he was wondering whether to believe her or not.  
  
Sara finally shrugged. 'Believe what you want, we both know what happened.'  
  
Nick suddenly started. 'It all makes sense now!'  
  
'What?'  
  
'Down on the beach, night before last. Why you were acting all crazy. You'd been doing something with Greg!'  
  
'Almost doing something.' Sara corrected, then realised she'd just admitted something was going on to Nick.  
  
'Ah ha!' He exclaimed. 'Almost?' He added.  
  
'We were interrupted.'  
  
'Oh. So you would have done?'  
  
Sara hesitated for a split second. 'Probably.'  
  
'So what's stopping you?'  
  
Sara gave him a questioning look.  
  
'What, you think we wouldn't approve?' Nick asked. 'I think it's great. You actually look happy.'  
  
Sara was surprised at the full on endorsement from Nick.  
  
'You don't think it's weird?' She checked.  
  
'No. You could do a lot worse. I know we all joke about him, but Greg is a good guy. And as long as you're happy, who cares what the rest of us think?'  
  
'I don't think this is what Gris had in mind when he sent us to do some team building.' Sara joked.  
  
'Nick!' They both looked round at Warrick. 'We're up, man.' He added.  
  
'See you at the bottom.' Nick told her, running over to get harnessed up again.  
  
Sara looked around, seeing Greg was deep in conversation with the instructor. There was only one more pair to go, Lenny and Matt, who were just getting ready.  
  
As Nick and Warrick touched down at the bottom, Nick waving up at them, the instructor briefly left his conversation with Greg to tell the other two to go.  
  
Matt went straight over, no hesitation.  
  
Lenny took one look over the edge, and froze.  
  
'Come on, over.' The instructor said. 'We haven't got all day.'  
  
Sara looked over at Lenny and saw that all the colour had drained from his face.  
  
'Greg, why don't you go on down, save us some of those sandwiches going round.' Sara asked.  
  
Greg nodded, the thought of food entirely enticing. Sara waited till he jumped over the edge, before walking over towards Lenny.  
  
The instructor was busying himself tidying up rope, and Lenny gulped as she drew near.  
  
'What's up, Lenny? Scared of heights?' Sara asked.  
  
'No.' Lenny immediately answered. Unfortunately the tough cop act didn't go down well with a face devoid of colour.  
  
Sara sat down on the rock, her feet dangling over the edge, looking down at the people below. 'So go, already.'  
  
Lenny stepped back, looked down, and stepped forward again. 'I can't.' He said. 'Hurt my shoulder. Gotta walk.' He told her in a hurry.  
  
With one hand, Sara stopped him from undoing the rope. 'Come on, you don't want to walk down. Just imagine what the others would think.' Sara said. Despite herself, Sara was starting to feel sorry for the guy- he was genuinely afraid of the height.  
  
She stood up and hooked herself to the rope Greg had just gone down on. 'Don't you think it would look much better if you come down with me- just imagine what they would all think.' Sara asked, giving him a slow smile.  
  
Lenny returned it, without thinking.  
  
'That's better. Now, just step back.' Lenny was still. 'One step.' Sara coaxed, moving closer to him. 'Come on.'  
  
Reluctantly he stepped back. Sara wondered how satisfying it would be just to push him over the edge, knowing the rope would stop him falling any great distance. He deserved it, after the rapids trip yesterday. But Sara wasn't that kind of person. She wasn't mean just for the sake of it.  
  
And Lenny was genuinely scared.  
  
Sara gently started lowering herself on the rope. 'Don't look down.' She instructed. 'Look up, look at me, whatever, just don't look down.'  
  
'I can't.I can't do this.'  
  
'Yes you can. Gently does it.'  
  
They both let out enough rope so they were near enough in a sitting position, their feet on the wall, Lenny with his eyes trained on hers.  
  
'One step at a time.' Sara said, releasing some of the rope as she stepped down the wall. This wasn't the fun way of doing it. Jumping off the wall in great strides was the fun way. But she didn't think Lenny would be quite up to that, so she stayed with the baby steps, coaxing, cajoling him down with her.  
  
The trip down was long, but it was still way shorter, and easier than having to climb up the wall.  
  
'See, no probs.' Sara told Lenny as they stepped onto solid ground.  
  
'Hey, what took you so long? Tyler asked, clapping Lenny on the back.  
  
'Had a girl to entertain- didn't want to rush it.' Lenny immediately answered.  
  
Sara grinned as she shook her head, but didn't say anything. Lenny flashed her a grateful look as he went with Tyler over to the other cops. Greg stepped up next to her. 'So you talked him down.' He said quietly in her ear.  
  
'Yep.'  
  
'If that was me, I would have left him there. You're better than I am, Sara.'  
  
'Wouldn't have helped anyone to have to wait for him to walk down.' Sara answered, shrugging off the compliment, turning to him. 'Talked to Nick.'  
  
'Yeah?'  
  
'He saw you leaving the tent.'  
  
'I know, we've already spoken to me.'  
  
'Oh? What did he have to say?'  
  
'Just that I better treat you right or he wouldn't have to go far to beat me.' Greg recounted.  
  
Sara smiled. 'Oh, well, if you're meant to be treating me right, hadn't you better start kissing me right?'  
  
Greg looked surprised for a second, but complied almost immediately, leaning over to capture her lips in a short sweet kiss.  
  
'Better.' Sara told him, leaning towards him. 'But I'm thinking we need to work on it.' She added, her words muffled as she finished with her lips on his.  
  
A.N. Well, it's almost done. Two, maybe three more parts to come. Thanks for the continued support, it means a lot to me. All those people who wanted Greg and Sara, I hope this is going down ok! 


	11. I'm gone

(one apology- sorry for anyone offended by my calling San Francisco, Frisco. I live in England, so anything I use is what I've picked up in books or in films. No excuse, but there ya go. No insult intended.)  
  
Sara wasn't sure that when they were meant to make two teams, that splitting into the cops versus CSI was what Elliot had in mind. But here they were, the four of them, at some remote drop off point. Arguing.  
  
They had been here for the sum total of five minutes, and so far, they had established that no one wanted anyone else to do the map reading.  
  
Sara sighed as she flopped gracefully onto an upturned tree root. 'When you boys have finished with the macho crap, you tell me.' She said to deaf ears, as Greg raised his voice even louder to try and talk over Nick.  
  
'Or,' Sara said, spreading the map on her knees, 'I'll do it myself and beat all of you down there.'  
  
They had two days to cross fifty miles of mainly forestry to get to a certain point ahead of the other team. Or the cops, anyway. Where they were starting from, Sara didn't know, but it was at roughly the same sort of distance away as they were. Sara wondered how they were getting along, considering they had six of them fighting out to be alpha male.  
  
Sara heard another sigh as Greg flopped down next to her. 'I give up.' He said, his hand settling neatly on her thigh as if it just belonged there.  
  
Sara wasn't gonna argue that point at all.  
  
'You think if I mention that Nick is holding the map upside down, they'd listen?' She asked.  
  
Greg looked over at Nick, then turned his head so that he was looking upside down, seeing that Sara was right. The arrow that told them where north was, was pointing up, when Nick was facing south, and the way they had to go was south. Greg shook his head as he laughed. 'So, have you figured out which way to head?' He asked.  
  
'Yep.' Sara answered simply.  
  
'Did you tell them?'  
  
'Yep.'  
  
'Are you gonna just sit here and wait for the fisticuffs?'  
  
'Yep.'  
  
'Are you ever gonna answer me with anything more than yep?'  
  
'Yep.'  
  
'Good. So where are we meant to be going?'  
  
'Well, the suns in the east, which puts south thataway.' Sara said pointing, 'which means we should probably be following that path for about the next couple of miles or so.'  
  
'And how did you figure all this out?'  
  
'It's on the map.'  
  
'Oh. Grissom was only joking when he sent us here to learn how to be a team, right?'  
  
'I hope he likes our sense of humour.'  
  
Nick and Warrick were still arguing about something, gesticulating, pointing. Sara and Greg exchanged looks, before getting to their feet. They walked up to them unnoticed, Greg behind Nick, and Sara behind Warrick, before they began to push them in the right direction.  
  
'Oi, what are you doing?' Warrick exclaimed, trying to twist out of Sara's grasp.  
  
'Leading the way.' Sara grunted back. 'Are you gonna walk?'  
  
'Yes, I'll walk.'  
  
'Fine.' Sara let go, as had Greg. They shared grins.  
  
'How do you know this is the right way?' Nick asked, still walking, not daring to stop.  
  
'I read the map. Honestly, the way you two where going on about it, anyone would think it was brain surgery.' Sara told them.  
  
'We were just discussing the way.'  
  
'Well we were bored.' Greg said. 'And weren't gonna wait anymore.'  
  
'They've been together five seconds and they're already ganging up together.' Nick moaned with a slight grin to show he was joking.  
  
'This has nothing to do with that, and everything to do with the fact that neither of you can admit you might be wrong, and Nick you're still holding your map upside down.'  
  
Nick looked down at his map, turning a bright red when he saw that Sara was right.  
  
They made fairly good progress after that. The way was hard going, the paths barely there in some places, overgrown or worn away. They had several climbs of varying heights, at one point breaking out at the summit of one hill to spectacular sites stretching as far as the eye could see.  
  
Trying to distract from the hard work and aching muscles, Nick started teasing Sara. They were slightly behind Warrick and Greg, who had gone ahead for what Greg had termed break time. 'You and Greg.'  
  
Sara looked over at him, just about managing to not roll her eyes, waiting for the rest of it.  
  
'Didn't see that one coming.' He finished, not looking round at her.  
  
Sara stayed quiet waiting out the teasing.  
  
'Didn't see it coming at all.'  
  
Sara however, didn't have that much patience. 'Is there a point to this?'  
  
'I'm just saying.'  
  
'Well stop just saying. If you've got an opinion, spit it out, otherwise I would keep it shut.'  
  
'Ooo, a bit touchy, aren't we? Anyway, what happened to your no dating in the work place rule?'  
  
Sara laughed quietly. 'I forgot all about it.'  
  
'Still, there is a reason why work place romances are bad.'  
  
'It's not like we work together that much. We only see each other when there's some results or something in a case.'  
  
'So, be honest, how serious is this?' Nick asked. 'Because it's all a bit sudden.'  
  
'I don't know. All I know is that till this trip the most personal I've been with Greg is to tell him to get a move on with my results. We spent a lot of time together, and I've really started to get to know him.'  
  
'Cause, you know, he's had a crush on you since you came here.'  
  
'I know.' They were silent for a moment, till Sara said quietly 'it's funny what you find when you're not looking for something.'  
  
Nick looked over at her.  
  
'I came on this trip, expecting to hate it, just wanting to come back again. And then you and Warrick seemed content just competing all the time. But it let me get to know Greg better.'  
  
All thoughts of teasing slipped from Nick's mind as he thought over Sara's words.  
  
They kept going until the sun slipped down behind the mountains and it was no longer safe to move. They stopped at the nearest flat(ish) opening, gathering firewood and setting up the fire before they did anything.  
  
They ate the reconstituted pasta because they were hungry rather than through any desire to actually digest the cardboard disguised with watery sauce. The air was still all around them, completely silent except for the crack of the fire. So peaceful, Sara thought as she lay back against Greg, using him as a pillow.  
  
Then Nick had to speak. 'This reminds me of camping as a boy. You know, all sat round telling ghost stories, or playing truth or dare.'  
  
'I've got a ghost story.' Greg offered, making them all groan.  
  
'If it's that email one you sent me last week, then we've all heard it.' Nick told him.  
  
For a moment, Greg was silent. 'ok, I've got a different one.' He announced.  
  
Sara looked back at him, seeing his face illuminated in the fireplace. 'It's a good job we're out in the wilderness, cause this ghost haunts the CSI lab.' He started.  
  
'Yeah, right.' Nick said with a laugh, but was quickly shushed by Greg.  
  
'I'm telling you, man. This ghost is real. How else do you explain what happened to me last month?'  
  
Nick sighed, before asking what happened.  
  
'Just sitting in the lab. Working away on a sample.'  
  
'You were working?' Sara asked teasingly.  
  
'Yes.' Greg said with a pout. 'Anyway. There was a knock on the door. Now, you know, after regular hours, the doors get locked, and it's all swipe access only.'  
  
They nodded, beginning to wonder where this was going.  
  
'So I went to the door, wondering if one of you had forgotten your card or something. Except there was no one there. I thought it must be kids or something playing around, so I walked back to the lab. Five minutes later, the same thing happened. I was seriously tempted just to leave it, but I thought it might be something important so got up again. And again, there was no one there. Now I was getting annoyed at having all my work interrupted'  
  
Sara giggled  
  
Greg ignored her. 'So I opened the door, and walked out, looking around. Completely forgetting that I'd taken off my id while I had been working and that it was lying on the desk. Of course, the door shut behind me, and I was locked out. That wasn't good- I was working on samples for Grissom, and I knew he would not be impressed if some of them got ruined because I was locked out. So I walked around the building, hoping that there might be a window open or something. There wasn't anything, I mean, the building's air conditioned, there are never any windows left open.'  
  
'What did you do, then?' Nick asked, trying hard to stop being compelled by the story.  
  
'I'm glad you asked, Nicky-boy.' Greg said. 'Because as I walked round to the front of the building again, what should I see already slotted in the card swipe but my id.'  
  
There was silence for a moment. 'Friendly ghost then.' Warrick finally commented.  
  
Sara, who had been quiet up to then, sat up suddenly and whirled on him, hitting him across the thigh. 'Hey- you nicked that.'  
  
'What?' Greg said.  
  
'Well, you changed some of it, but that was a story off Dawson's Creek.' She exclaimed.  
  
'Wasn't.'  
  
'Was so.' Sara answered. 'Gran's story about Jen in the radio station. It's all the same.'  
  
Greg pouted. 'You had to spoil it, didn't you?'  
  
'That's actually very scary. What were you doing watching Dawson's Creek? Both of you?' Nick answered.  
  
'It's funny.' Sara said defensively.  
  
Nick and Warrick looked at Greg for his excuse. He shrugged. 'What she said.' He answered hooking a finger at Sara.  
  
'You watch it for the girls.' Nick corrected.  
  
That night they slept out under the stars in their sleeping bags. Sara lay awake for a long time, feeling Greg's breath across her head where she was leaning against him. She watched the stars, doing a relaxation technique she had used as a child of trying to count the stars. It wasn't that she wasn't tired. She had muscles aching that she didn't know she had. Her legs, her knees, all seemed to have aged in the last few days by a whole lot of years.  
  
But she wasn't that sleepy. Exhausted, but not sleepy. She was just enjoying being held for once. Feeling safe. Seemed ironic that she was out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by forest, and that it was here she was feeling safe.  
  
Her eyelids were drooping, her mind just becoming blank when a hand was suddenly clamped over her mouth.  
  
Her eyes shot open, but in the darkness she couldn't make anything out. Then something was being tied around her eyes, blinding her further, as she was lifted from the ground. A harsh whisper in her ear told her to walk.  
  
The morning dawned early, Nick and Warrick both waking with the sun as they had been doing for the last few days. Greg was still soundo, while Sara's sleeping bag was empty, abandoned on the ground. That wasn't that surprising. Sara was always up before them.  
  
'Do we wake sleeping ugly?' Nick asked, as Warrick looked around wondering where Sara had got to.  
  
'Yea. Where do you suppose Sara is? I don't remember there being any watering holes near-by.'  
  
'Probably gone for some privacy.' Nick answered. He walked towards Greg, circling him for a moment, wondering what would be the cruellest way to wake him. He leaned down, getting close to Greg's ear. 'Greg.' He whispered.  
  
'Don't wanna go to school.' Greg mumbled in his sleep, turning over.  
  
'Oh Greg.' Nick sung out again, a little louder.  
  
'Go away mom.' Greg mumbled.  
  
Nick was trying to stifle his laughter as he got a little closer. 'Greg!' He yelled, moving just in time to avoid Greg as he sat bolt upright. 'What?'  
  
'Time to get up.' Nick laughed.  
  
Greg scowled, before he looked around for Sara. 'Where's Sara?'  
  
'She was already up before us.' Nick said, going back to his bag to see what he could dig up for breakfast.  
  
Greg shrugged, standing up, seeing a white piece of paper flutter to the ground that had been trapped by his sleeping bag. He didn't like what he read.  
  
So, what's happened to Sara? Tune in to what will hopefully be the final part to find out! The epi of DC used was all that I could remember, sorry if it wasn't quite that way.  
  
Happy Easter. 


	12. but i'll come back for you

"Sorry, we needed a map reader. Don't worry, we'll take good care of you. See you at camp."  
  
It was the second time Nick had read the letter out loud. Not that it made much more sense.  
  
'They kidnapped her.' Greg said, absently picking at a loose feather from his sleeping bag. 'From right under our noses.' He added.  
  
'There's drag marks over here.' Warrick said. He had been walking around the perimeter of the clearing they had been using.  
  
'Great. Wanna take a mould and see if we can match it at the lab?' Greg asked sarcastically.  
  
'Chill, man. They've just taken her to use her skills. Sara's not exactly gonna give them up without a fight.' Nick said, packing up his sleeping bag.  
  
'They probably have no idea what they've just done to themselves.' Warrick added, meaning it as a [kind of] complement to Sara.  
  
But Greg took it the wrong way for Sara. He whirled on Warrick. 'Just cause you don't like her! All she's had to put up with all this week are sick jibes from them all week. And now they've kidnapped her. I'm gonna guess that she's not enjoying herself that much.'  
  
'Greg, I didn't mean it like that.'  
  
'Sure you didn't.'  
  
'Hey Guys, yelling at each other? Not gonna help.' Nick pointed out, stopping both of them mid-rant. 'It's obvious the good ole cops have been struggling, or they wouldn't have taken Sara. And Sara being the only woman, she would have been the obvious choice, not least because she's the lightest of all of us. Which begs the question, how did they know we were here, and do they really think that Sara is gonna lead them in the right direction?' Nick pointed out.  
  
Greg and Warrick both had to agree with him on that one.  
  
'So what are we supposed to do?' Greg asked.  
  
'I guess, get back to base camp.' Nick said, 'and wait for them.'  
  
'Sara'll probably give them the run around for as long as she can, before taking them to camp.' Warrick added.  
  
'Can't we get them back- get Sara off of them?' Greg asked.  
  
'How are we meant to know where to look?'  
  
'Well I don't know. It just sounded like a good idea. What am I? Knowledge guy now? You two are meant to be the ones with the analytical minds.' Greg pointed out.  
  
'Right.' Nick and Warrick both said slowly, looking at each other.  
  
'Right.' Nick added once more, just for good measure. 'We should.look at the map.'  
  
'Right.' Warrick agreed. 'Consult the map.'  
  
They spread Nick's map on the floor, and studied it for a while. 'This really doesn't help.' Nick finally said, sitting back on his heels.  
  
Warrick got to his feet, paced the length of the clearing.  
  
Greg just looked on, not sure whether he should be scared for.Sara, or scared for the cops.  
  
'You know I mentioned drag marks?' Warrick asked eventually.  
  
'Yeah.' Nick answered, not even bothering to look up.  
  
'We could always follow them.'  
  
The other two got to their feet at that, hurriedly packing up the remaining stuff, before they started following the drag marks deep into the brush, coming out at a second clearing a hundred yards down.  
  
'They were following us!' Nick exclaimed. 'And I bet for the whole of yesterday.'  
  
'Naughty boys.' Warrick commented, as he bent to pick up a stub from a collection on the floor. 'Didn't anyone explain the smoking bad concept?'  
  
'So where did they go from here.'  
  
They wandered around for a while, seemingly stuck, till Nick noticed noticeable footprints off to one side. They weren't in any pattern, a few deep ones amongst a lot of lighter ones, like someone had been deliberately stamping her mark into the ground.  
  
'I think Sara left us a trail.' He called the others, and together they started following.  
  
It was fairly easy going most of the time, in completely the wrong direction, they all noticed.  
  
'What was she doing, holding the map the wrong way?' Nick asked as he followed the route as they went.  
  
Greg couldn't help but laugh as he realised what Sara had been doing. 'She's using your trick.' He told Nick.  
  
Nick gave him a confused questioning, narrow eyed look.  
  
'Map reading with a map upside down. Sara's probably betting on the fact that no one's gonna notice that the arrow pointing out north on the map is facing the wrong way. I mean, you didn't notice.' Greg pointed out, enjoying the look on Nick's face.  
  
Warrick joined in with the laughter.  
  
Sara couldn't complain about the treatment she was receiving. Except for maybe being dragged a hundred yards when they had first grabbed her. But since then, they had treated her like royalty. Something Sara reduced to the fact that not one of them knew how to read a compass, and a map, and use the two together to find their way.  
  
Which of course, made leading them up the proverbial garden path, or in this case, down the forest path completely the wrong way was easy. Even the few who had the slightest clue hadn't noticed the slight discrepancy between what the map claimed to be north, and what the compass thought.  
  
Should she feel guilty for taking them the wrong way? After all, they had had to admit their weakness, to her, a girl. They had had to ask for help, which had surely battered their pride a little.  
  
Sara almost laughed at the notion. She was far from feeling guilty. She was having fun. It might have helped the cops case if one of them hadn't insist that getting a girl to read the map was wrong, and they should have grabbed the lab rat one instead. Sara didn't enjoy having her abilities questioned, especially considering they had kidnapped her for exactly that ability.  
  
Men were dumb, sometimes, she reasoned to herself as she put her foot heavily into the soil, making a good print. She just hoped that was just a stereotype and not a majority counsel rule.  
  
Otherwise she really would be winning this thing alone.  
  
She waited until lunchtime, when she had effectively led them round in a circle, before she decided she'd had enough of being called ma'am (it made her feel old), and to skip out on them. She could have waited for her rescuers, of course. But firstly, the notion of waiting to be rescued didn't exactly register with her. Like she was gonna rely on someone else to do it. Knowing her luck, Greg and the others had decided they'd just go on down to camp, and find her there.  
  
The walk out was easy. The old I'm a female, I have female needs, and they require privacy worked like a charm. She walked off to, as it were, use the little girls room (without the room, or the little girl) and just never turned back.  
  
She wasn't sure how long it was till the cops figured out that she wasn't coming back. No one came close enough in searching for her, for her to find out. She had been kind. She'd left the map after all. If she had been feeling really mean, she'd have walked out without that as well.  
  
She found her way back to their original campsite for last night, and then hunkered down for the wait. If Nick, Warrick or Greg had any sense between them, they would have realised that she was heading in a full circle, and would therefore eventually find her here.  
  
That was of course, relying on her earlier theory that all men were dumb being proved incorrect.  
  
She waited two hours before she gave up hope, resigned to herself that her theory had inadvertently been proven right, and started on the way back to base camp instead. Leave the men out here to fight it on their own. She'd just have to make her own way home and beat all of them.  
  
Which certainly didn't sound half bad to her.  
  
'She was going in a circle.' Nick exclaimed.  
  
'Gee- ya think?' Warrick asked sarcastically, weariness setting in now.  
  
'So where are they then?' Greg asked no one in particular, as he bashed a couple of branches out of his face.  
  
'Not here, that's for sure.' Nick answered, looking all around. A shout suddenly filled the air, making them all jump slightly. Warrick and Greg turned to give him a look. 'Or maybe they are.' He corrected himself.  
  
'Come on.' Warrick whispered, crouching down slightly, creeping along in a silent approach till Greg walked sideways into a tree and let out a sharp curse.  
  
Nick and Warrick gave him a sharp look. 'Real stealthy, Greg.' Nick commented. 'Hey, you're the ones trained in this. Stealthy doesn't really matter in a lab.' Greg shot back.  
  
'Shh, I don't think they heard us, they're arguing too loudly- let's see what they're arguing about.' Warrick told them, pointing to a near-by wall of plants that shielded the cops.  
  
They walked silently (as they could anyway) up to it, Warrick in the lead crouching at the opening of the plants into a natural pathway leading to a clearing. Nick silently darted across the pathway, taking up the other side, Greg having to make do with peering over Warrick's shoulder to see.  
  
The cops were all shouting so loudly that none of them had any clue they were being watched.  
  
'Why the hell did you let her go?' Lenny yelled at Matt.  
  
'She wanted to go to the bathroom.' Matt yelled back. 'What, you wanted me to let her wet herself?'  
  
'And you never guessed that it could be a trick? Why didn't you follow her?'  
  
'Hey! We kidnapped her, I don't think we need to totally disrespect her as well.' An older guy, Tony added in.  
  
'Yeah well, now she's back with the nerd squad and we're not gonna have any chance of winning this thing. Why are you all so thick?!' Lenny exclaimed.  
  
'You can't read a map either!' Matt yelled back.  
  
Nick and Warrick were exchanging amused looks, enjoying this. Wherever Sara had gone, she had certainly left behind some very confused policemen.  
  
Greg was also enjoying the show, but was distracted by the feeling of being watched. He looked around, at first not seeing anything, till he looked up.  
  
Sara grinned down at him from a tall oak tree. She was sitting casually on one of the first branches from the grounds, feet dangling, looking more relaxed than Greg could remember seeing her.  
  
He looked back at Warrick and Nick about to tell them, but caught a sharp shake of the head from Sara. She signalled at her own chest, then back at him. You and me. Greg got the message, and quietly backed up, turning and running when he saw that Warrick and Nick were so engrossed in the cop show that they had no clue what he was doing.  
  
He easily climbed the large oak, and Sara met him at the trunk. 'Hey you.' She said.  
  
'Hey- how did you escape your big bad kidnappers?' Greg asked her, leaning over slightly to kiss the tip of her nose.  
  
'I might have needed the bathroom, and lost my way coming back.' Sara answered in an innocent voice, before she lifted her chin, meeting Greg's lips with her own.  
  
Sara pulled away first. Greg didn't have enough working neurones left to actually move. Or think. Or generally exist anymore. All he could was stare and wonder at her beauty and how the hell it had become that he was kissing her.  
  
'Wanna get back to camp?' She asked huskily. The kiss hadn't only affected Greg.  
  
'Sure.' He managed, not sure if his legs would work anymore.  
  
They'd been walking for almost three miles before Greg asked, 'Nick and Warrick'll figure it out, won't they?'  
  
Sara didn't answer but couldn't stop grinning at the implications. She didn't really care at that moment. Worse came to worse, the organisers sent out their trained personal to search and retrieve. And they all had maps.  
  
She had Greg. All alone. And they were still at least one night away from base camp. And there was one place she had always wanted to make love- outdoors, under the stars.  
  
Tonight she got her wish and more.  
  
They got to base camp late morning, to find Elliot alone reading a newspaper. 'Hey- anything important going on in the world?' Sara greeted him.  
  
'Only the usual doom and gloom- I don't know why I bother reading it anymore. It's the same depressing stuff everyday.'  
  
'You never know, one day there might be some happiness.' Sara said with a look at Greg.  
  
'I suppose.' Elliot replied, missing the look, although Greg hadn't, nor the implication. He was grinning and blushing as he squeezed Sara's hand that he was holding.  
  
Elliot folded the newspaper. 'Congratulations. Not a very fast time, but you're the first here.'  
  
'We had a bit of a detour.' Sara told him mysteriously.  
  
'Oh well- I thought you were sticking with Nick and Warrick?' Elliot questioned.  
  
'Plans changed.' Greg told him.  
  
'Right.'  
  
It was late afternoon, as the sun was about to disappear altogether behind the mountains, when the air was filled with the sounds of insects, and the gentle hum of the near by river, when the rest of the survival group showed up looking much the worse for wear. Sara and Greg were relaxing by the fire, stomachs full and peacefully tired, having eaten and played various stupid games most of the afternoon.  
  
Warrick and Nick didn't look impressed with their two co-workers. 'It's about team work, man.' Warrick told them, looking disgusted as he and Nick flopped next to them on the floor.  
  
Sara looked at them, fighting the smile that threatened. 'Looked to me like you had a lot of team work.' She told him, looking at the cops who were looking similarly wasted the other side of the campfire. 'What happened?'  
  
'They spotted us spying on them. So we agreed to help them get back to base camp in exchange for various things.'  
  
'What?'  
  
'Water. Their mats to sleep on. Some of their food. All the important essentials for survival.'  
  
'You traded your map skills for food and water?' Greg asked. 'You sold yourselves out?'  
  
'It's all about the team work.' Nick answered. 'And the fact that it was six on two and most of them are way bigger than us.'  
Epilogue  
  
Their first night back at the CSI labs was certainly interesting. And dull compared to being out in the middle of nowhere except with a map and vacuum packed food to survive on. The familiar routines (or as familiar as murder got, anyway) did have a new side now. They'd all seen a new side to the others, and even if they had argued most of the week, they certainly came away with a new respect for each other. Grissom and Catherine noticed it almost straight away in the break room, the difference in the atmosphere. Maybe Grissom's idea had actually been a good one, Catherine commented to him later that night.  
  
Grissom had given her a look. 'All my ideas are good ones.'  
  
'Uh yeah.' Catherine answered sarcastically.  
  
'They are!' He protested to her retreating back.  
  
'What are you arguing about?' Sara commented, coming up to his side. 'You know, perhaps you two should have gone on this week, learned how to work together and not like an old married couple.'  
  
'Ha Ha.' Grissom intoned. 'So you enjoyed the week?' He added, as he walked with her into his office.  
  
'It had its ups and downs.' Sara said shortly. 'It certainly opened my eyes up to a few things. You know, being out in the wilderness, it gives you a chance to think, to reflect.'  
  
Grissom nodded as he waved her into a chair. 'So what were you reflecting upon?' He asked her, taking a seat himself on the other side of his desk.  
  
Sara didn't answer his question straight away, instead asking one of her own. 'Can I ask you a question?'  
  
He nodded for her to continue.  
  
'Hypothetically, you know, would there be a problem with two colleagues having a relationship?'  
  
Grissom shifted uncomfortably, taking off his glasses, cleaning them carefully as he thought about the question. 'Well, officially, it is frowned upon, but it isn't against the rules. But it is a dangerous situation, working with someone you are personally involved in. I don't know if it would be such a good idea.'  
  
'But if two people wanted a relationship, no one could stop them?'  
  
'Sara, we've been over this. I can't get into a relationship with you.'  
  
Stunned, and more than a little embarrassed, Sara laughed a little. 'Uh, I wasn't talking about us. I got over you a long time ago.'  
  
Grissom, blushing bright red now, asked, 'you got over me?'  
  
'Well.uh. yeah. Look, perhaps you're not the right person to talk to. Too much back story.'  
  
'Who are you talking about?  
  
'Um.Greg.'  
  
'You and Greg?!' Grissom asked astonished. He certainly hadn't seen that one coming anytime.  
  
'I discovered a lot of new things while I was away. Did a lot of soul searching. I've not been in a relationship for so long. This is new, and it's exciting. He's good for me. I just wanted to know there wouldn't be a problem with rules and stuff. Now I know. I didn't mean to.um.ya know.'  
  
'Sure, Sara. Um, see you around.'  
  
'Yeah, see you.' Sara echoed.  
  
'So how'd he take it?' Greg asked as they walked out of the labs to their car. They'd driven in together that night.  
  
'He was, um, surprised.' Sara said with a slight smile. 'But he's cool. And no regulations to worry about.'  
  
Greg turned to Sara 'Want some breakfast?' He asked. 'You know, first official date?' He added.  
  
Sara leant towards him, kissing him softly on his lips. 'Only if that's breakfast in bed.' She murmured against his lips.  
  
'Oh, count on it.' Greg said, kissing her back.  
  
Finished! Hope you enjoyed this story- I certainly enjoyed writing it! Anyway, thank you again for all the reviews, they certainly helped motivate me! 


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